Community Quit Smoking Supports
by Sara Chow
Quitting smoking is the single best thing that you can do for your health, but it can be very difficult to quit. This is why there are many different quit smoking supports and resources available to you, including: Smokers’ Helpline, Take Control: Personal Tobacco-Free Counselling, community pharmacists, family health team’s, The Quit Coach and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.Is it your New Year’s resolution to quit smoking? Are you looking for support or some help? You’re not alone.
Quitting smoking is the single best thing that you can do for your health, but it can be very difficult to quit. This is why there are many different quit smoking supports and resources available to you.
Some of the local smoking cessation resources include:
Take Control: Personal Tobacco-Free Counselling:
At the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, you can access free, individual cessation counselling (nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) voucher system available for eligible clients) with a Tobacco Treatment Specialist. For more information, call (807) 625-5982 or visit www.tbdhu.com.
Smokers’ Helpline:
Smokers’ Helpline is a service operated by the Canadian Cancer Society. They offer free personalized advice, counselling and a quit plan that suits you. They are accessible by phone, online and even text. Smokers’ Helpline often holds annual quit smoking contests (e.g. Driven 2 Quit and Leave the Pack Behind). For more information call 1-877-513-5333 or visit www.smokershelpline.ca.
Community Pharmacists and Family Health Teams:
Pharmacists’ practice has expanded to include smoking cessation counselling and they can prescribe and dispense medications for quitting smoking. Family Health Teams have also been hosting quit smoking clinics and packages for their patients. These are great opportunities to work with your healthcare providers to make a plan to quit smoking. As an added bonus, these opportunities may also easily align with your work benefits plan if smoking cessation coverage is included.
STOP on the Road Study:
The ‘STOP on the Road Study’, which is part of a quit smoking study through the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH), is offered a few times each year through the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. The next STOP workshop is January 19th, 2016. Eligible participants attend a short education session for tips on quitting smoking (e.g. how to make a quit smoking plan that will work for you), and then receive 5 weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Follow the Health Unit on Facebook or Twitter to receive up-to-date news, or call (807) 625-8340 for more information.
The Quit Coach:
Long-time smoking cessation advocate, Jim Morris, offers an individual smoking cessation counselling service. Call The Quit Coach at (807) 472-6309 or email him at jtmorris@tbaytel.net to find out more about his service.
Other Helpful Resources:
Sometimes the decision to quit smoking is based on timing. For patients at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre who have decided ‘now’ is the time to quit, there are supports. Ask your healthcare provider about your quit smoking options. For anyone who visits the hospital who wants to quit smoking, free resources are available in ‘Care Kits’ from the Information Desk.
For more information on smoking cessation resources available in our region, visit: www.tbrhsc.net/smokefree
