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Feb 2nd, 2007 - 16:31:59
Rockland will join communities around the nation Thursday in challenging people to put out their cigarettes for one day as part of the Great American Smokeout. The event, held for the 30th year, encourages smokers to go for 24 hours without using any tobacco products. It also serves to draw attention to the health effects of smoking, according to the American Cancer Society, which publicizes the annual event. Rockland officials said they hoped the day would remind local residents of the programs available to help them kick the habit for good. "There are still smokers out there who want to quit, and the Great American Smokeout is a good opportunity to see that they can get through 24 hours without tobacco," said Shelley Chanler, tobacco control coordinator for the Rockland Health Department. The county offers free smoking cessation classes that combine group support and behavioral techniques along with nicotine replacement therapies, including gum, lozenges and nicotine patches. The classes have been very successful since they started four years ago. More than 1,080 people have taken the 10-week course, Chanler said. About half the people who go through the program remain smoke free a year later, according to surveys completed by Lisa Lieberman, a public health expert hired by Rockland to evaluate its anti-smoking efforts. Nationally, the average success rate is closer to 20 percent, she said. The county's fall cessation courses have 63 people enrolled. The Health Department is taking names for classes that will start in January. For the first time, the county also is running a Spanish-language stop-smoking program. The class, which meets at the Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services center in Nyack, has four people enrolled. "This is a very difficult population to reach," Chanler said. The Health Department also has started trial sessions of one-on-one counseling for smokers who do not want to participate in a group. Each week, 10 people meet individually with a counselor and receive nicotine replacement therapy. After the trial period, more slots will open, she said. "We hope to roll that program out in January," she said. The county has been successful in reducing the number of residents who smoke. Surveys done in 2003 showed the adult smoking rate was 15.3 percent. The latest survey showed the rate had decreased to 12.2 percent, according to the Health Department. The county's goal is to have a 12 percent smoking rate by 2010. "We're on target to meet that goal," Chanler said. Rockland spends nearly $1 million annually on anti-smoking programs. Much of the money comes from the county's share of a settlement reached with tobacco companies for expenses related to diseases caused by smoking. © Copyright 2006 by DiscountCigarettesBox.Com Top of Page |
