CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
On Thursday, Charleston AFB will celebrate the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. This event is held on the third Thursday each November and is geared toward motivating tobacco users across the country to quit for one day.
If someone is thinking about quitting and perhaps is hesitant, the Health and Wellness Center staff would like to help by using the Great American Smokeout as an opportunity to make that commitment to quit. Even if they are not ready to quit right now, the Smokeout can be used as a means to get prepared for the day when they will quit for good.
Those interested in quitting can stop by the HAWC on Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 pm. to pick up a "Tobacco Toolkit to Quit." This package contains reading materials that can help those interested in working through the reasons why they should stop using tobacco and the reasons to quit. Additionally, this toolkit can assist with developing a final quit plan.
As part of the individual plan, participants will want to quit for one day -- on Thursday
-- along with thousands of other individuals across the nation. Quitting tobacco for one day helps raise awareness of tobacco habits and helps identify the resources needed for someone to quit.
Those interested in supporting the Smokeout on Thursday can stop by the HAWC to complete the contract to "Adopt A Smoker" for the day. By volunteering to "adopt" someone who smokes, you are committing yourself to being there to assist them in accomplishing their goal of quitting. Some ways in which friends can assist someone who is trying to quit is by reassuring them that Thursday is just one day, just a 24-hour time period and they can make it. They can also help the smoker remember their commitment not to smoke and praising them for their willpower.
Additional help is available to support interest in becoming tobacco free and the HAWC stands ready to help by offering group smoking cessation classes. Also, more help and information are available at 1-800 Quitline (548-8252) and Freedom from Smoking classes from the American Lung Association online at www.ffsonline.org.
According to the Air Force Corporate Health Information Processing Service, more than 29 percent of Charleston AFB Airmen use tobacco products. Let's get that number to zero and let's start with you. Be fit, be ready, be tobacco free!
For more information about the Great American Smokeout or programs available to help quit tobacco, call the HAWC at 963-4007.