Quitting tobacco use is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your family. If you made a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking in 2009, free help is available.
The Alabama Department of Public Health offers a free telephone-based tobacco cessation service that provides free counseling and four weeks of free nicotine patches, if medically eligible. The Alabama Tobacco Quitline — 1-800-Quit-Now — is available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Calls placed after these hours or on weekends or holidays will be returned the next business day.
Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Each year, more than 7,400 Alabamians die from smoking-related causes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every person who dies, 20 people are suffering from at least one serious tobacco-related illness.
Master’s level counselors from the Quitline work individually with callers to help them formulate a specific plan to stop smoking. A Spanish-speaking counselor is available and translator services can be used for those who speak other languages. Those medically eligible who agree to counseling can receive four weeks of free nicotine patches.
Demetra Peoples
Tobacco Prevention
and Control Coordinator
Montgomery County
Health Department