Press Releases
New “Quit Now” Challenge Encourages Young Adult Tobacco Users to Share their Personal Stories to Help Others Quit
Be a Quitter! Louisiana smokers and spit tobacco users, ages 18-29, are invited to participate in the Quit Now Challenge—a national initiative to gather and share personal and inspirational stories of tobacco users who want to quit.
Now through October 27th, 1-800-QUIT-NOW will accept VHS or DVD video submissions from cigarette smokers and spit tobacco users explaining, in their own words, why they want to Quit Now!
From the video submissions, 14 semi-finalists will be selected. Semifinalists will work with 1-800-QUIT-NOW counselors to develop quit plans and share their personal quitting experiences in an online journal featured on www.1800QUITNOW.org. The winning Quitters will be announced February 7, 2007.
The Quit Now Challenge is free and open to current tobacco users who would like to quit with the assistance of 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Interested individuals can visit www.tobaccofreeliving.org for information on how to submit video entries.
In Louisiana, 1-800-QUIT-NOW was launched by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living in August 2005. Since that time, more than 6,000 Louisianans have called for free and confidential cessation counseling to help with their tobacco addictions.
Calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW in Louisiana are expected to increase in the coming months as the state prepares for the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act (Act 815) to take effect on January 1, 2007. Act 815 prohibits smoking in most indoor spaces, including restaurants, to protect Louisianans from the harmful health effects of secondhand smoke exposure.
1-800-QUIT-NOW will no doubt continue to play a key role in helping Louisianans embrace healthy lifestyle choices, says Feamula Bradley, Regional Coordinator for The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living.
1-800-QUIT-NOW counseling is free and confidential. Callers may receive up to five callbacks from their assigned counselor to help them stay on track, and smokers who are pregnant may receive up to eight callbacks.
Depending on individual interests, counselors can also refer callers to free or low cost, local group therapy programs offered through the American Lung Associations Freedom from Smoking Clinics.
Managed by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and funded by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, 1-800-QUIT-NOW provides individually assigned telephone counselors to help smokers and smokeless tobacco users set goals, identify target dates for quitting and develop personalized quit plans based on their needs. Self-help and educational materials can also be mailed to callers upon request.
To learn more about the Quit Now challenge, visit www.tobaccofreeliving.org. For help quitting, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
