Letter: New year is good time to quit smoking cigarettes

I appreciated the discussion around tobacco use in a recent edition of Indianapolis Business Journal. In the spirit of working toward a healthier state, I wanted to share some information that may be helpful this time of year. During the holiday season, many people begin thinking about their new year’s resolutions and commit to making positive changes for their health at the start of the new year. One life-saving change people can make any time of year is to quit using tobacco. There are several ways to be successful in quitting tobacco use and becoming a non-smoker for the long term.

During a quit attempt, use slips as learning experiences instead of reasons to go back to smoking. Quitting smoking is like riding a bicycle: Every attempt is a way to learn what went wrong and get back on track.

Reach out to family and friends for support. Any change is difficult to go at alone and having a support system ensures you’ll have a shoulder to lean on during the particularly tough times. One way to involve friends and family is to have a quit buddy who begins a quit attempt at the same time, and you can talk to about the quitting process.

Remember it takes, on average, eight to 10 quit attempts to successfully quit smoking. If at first you don’t succeed, try again!

The Indiana Tobacco Quitline is a free resource available to all Hoosiers to quit all forms of tobacco, including e-cigarettes. Right now, the Quitline is offering two weeks of nicotine replacement therapy in the form of patches, gum, or lozenges to all who enroll. For more information or to get started, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit quitnowindiana.com.

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Abbey Jones
Tobacco Cessation Specialist
Marion County Public Health Department