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For Release Friday, 7th
December,
2001
Contact: Bill Parizek
850-245-4111
Orlando Smokers wishing to kick the habit can now get help by calling the Florida Quit-For-Life Line toll-free at 877-U CAN NOW, health officials announced today. The hotline, available in English, Spanish, and TDD for the hearing impaired, provides callers counseling services and other information to help them quit smoking.
Studies prove that tobacco use is incredibly addictive so this toll-free line will give smokers in our state a fighting chance to kick this deadly habit, said Program Manager M.R. Street. The professionals at the American Cancer Society have had success in helping smokers kick the addiction for decades, so we are confident that providing direct access to them will go a long way toward reducing smoking rates in Florida.
The Florida Quit-For-Life Line was made possible through a grant provided to the Florida Department of Health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. The Department of Health has contracted with the American Cancer Society to staff the phone lines with trained tobacco-cessation counselors. Over the past year, the American Cancer Society has coordinated the development of similar quitlines in Texas, Colorado, Vermont, Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
Scientific evidence proves this type of telephone counseling is an effective way to help smokers quit, said Angela Geiger, National Director of Strategic Initiatives for the American Cancer Society. We know quitting is hard and the Florida Quit- For-Life Line can help.
Calls from smokers are handled in a stage-based manner, which categorizes individuals into one of five stages:
1. Pre-contemplative Individuals who are not aware of the need to change their behavior and there is no intention to change in the foreseeable future;
2. Contemplative Individuals who are aware of a problem and the need to change but have not yet made a commitment to take action;
3. Preparation Individuals who are preparing to start making a change;
4. Action Individuals actively involved in modifying their behavior in regard to smoking; and
5. Maintenance Individuals who have consistently changed their behavior for at least six months.
Callers are offered treatment options that are appropriate for their stage of readiness. Smokers ready to quit will receive a choice of: a series of five proactive counseling sessions; self-help materials that will be mailed to them; or a referral to a community health care provider. Reduced cost nicotine replacement therapy also will be available.
A report issued by the Florida Department of Health estimated that approximately 2.4 million adults in Florida smoked tobacco in 1999. Of these, approximately 51 percent had stopped smoking at least one day during the preceding 12 months but were unsuccessful in quitting for life.
An epidemiological study conducted by the department in December 1999 revealed that tobacco use accounted for 1 out of every 5.3 deaths in Florida in 1998 and more than $2.6 billion in hospital charges.
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