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Welcome
to "Quit for Life"- Cambridge Health Alliance's Tobacco
Treatment Program.
Quitting
smoking is one of the most important things you can do for your
health. Most people who quit live longer and feel healthier, even
if they have smoked for many years.
But
if you have tried to quit smoking, you know how hard it can be.
It's easy to get discouraged, but don't give up - there are proven
ways to quit successfully; all you need is some help.
This
page offers support and tools for smokers and their friends and
family to help you quit and stay quit. If you have additional questions
about smoking and your health, please talk to your doctor or nurse.
The
"Quit for Life" program is not able to offer quit smoking
counseling services at this time. There are many other affordable,
easy-to-use programs in the Boston area that can help smokers become
nonsmokers for life. Please read on to learn more about help for
smokers who want to quit.
How
treatment programs can help you quit and stay quit
You
know that every cigarette you smoke hurts your health. Sadly, cigarettes
are not just bad for you, they are also very addictive. That is
why you may have failed when you tried to quit smoking in the past.
It is easy to feel that it is impossible to quit, especially if
you couldn't stop when you tried before.
But
there is hope. Studies show that, if you are a smoker, you have
a better chance of quitting for good when you use a mix of things
that can help you, like counseling, support and medicines.
In
a smoking treatment program, trained counselors guide you at each
step of the quitting process. They help you quit by giving you support,
medicines and therapy to help reduce your urge to smoke.
Take
this quiz to understand more about why you smoke.
Click
here.
Get
tips on how to cope with quitting smoking.
Click
here.
Cambridge
Health Alliance's "Quit for Life" Tobacco Treatment Program
CHA's
"Quit for Life" tobacco treatment program is run by the
Department of Community Affairs. The program is not able to offer
quit smoking counseling at this time, but here are many other high-quality,
affordable programs in the Boston area that can help you become
a nonsmoker for life. Please click on the links above or keep reading
to find out more about these programs.
Quitline
Quitline
is a free stop-smoking service from the Massachusetts Department
of Public Health.
Whether
you are thinking about quitting, ready to try to quit, or have already
quit and want to stay that way, Quitline can help. Quitline offers:
- Review
of smoking habits, quitting history, smoking triggers and support
systems to make a treatment plan that is right for you.
- Telephone
counseling sessions to help you quit and support you in the early
weeks.
- Interactive
website (www.trytostop.org)
to help you design your own quit plan, track how you are doing
and celebrate big steps on the way.
- Referral
to tobacco treatment programs in your area that offer support
groups or individual counseling.
- Brochures
and flyers made especially to help you quit.
- Follow-up
calls to see how you are doing and offer more support if you need
it.
All
Quitline services are free. Quitline operators speak English, Spanish
and Portuguese, and translation services are available for other
languages.
Ready
to quit? Visit www.trytostop.org
or call Quitline today:
English
and all other languages: 1-800-TRY-TO-STOP (1-800-879-8678)
Spanish
and Portuguese: 1-800-8-DEJALO (1-800-833-5256) TTY: 1-800-TDD-1477
(1-800-833-1477)
(Mon. - Thurs. 9:00am- 7:00pm, Fri. 9:00am-5:00pm)
Click
here for a flyer you can print and take with you.
For
stop smoking tips in English, call the Quit Tips Line 24 hours a
day at 1-800-9-GETATIP
(1-800-943-8284).
Massachusetts
General Hospital Quit Smoking Service
The
MGH Quit Smoking Service offers low-cost, high quality tobacco treatment
services that can help you quit and stay that way.
If
you are a smoker who is ready to quit, the MGH Quit Smoking Service
offers:
- Help
for you to create a quit plan that is right for you.
- Seven
one-hour group meetings with seven to nine other smokers, led
by a trained counselor.
- Low-cost
nicotine patches and gum for people in the counseling program
(with approval from your healthcare provider).
- Referral
to tobacco treatment and outreach programs in Charlestown, Everett,
Chelsea and Revere.
New
groups start each month. Sessions are in the early evening (5:30-6:30
pm) or mid-afternoon (2:00-3:00 pm). Groups meet at the MGH Main
Campus in Boston, which you can get to easily by subway, bus or
car.
All
MGH Quit Smoking Service programs are in English. Fees are on a
sliding scale based on income.
Ready
to quit? Call 617-726-7443 to sign up for the MGH Quit Smoking Service
(open Mon. through Fri. from 8am to 5 pm), or send an e-mail to
quitsmoking@partners.org.
Click
here for a flyer you can print and take with you.
For
more information, click
here or call 617-726-7443.
Fast
facts about the benefits of quitting
When
you quit smoking, your body gets healthier in just minutes, and
the benefits last a lifetime:
- 20
minutes after quitting, your blood pressure drops. The temperature
in your hands and feet rises.
- 8
hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide (a gas that can be toxic)
in your blood drops to normal.
- 24
hours after quitting, your chance of having a heart attack goes
down.
- 2
days after quitting, you can taste and smell things better.
- 2
weeks to 3 months after quitting, you have better circulation.
Your lungs start working better.
- 1
to 9 months after quitting, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue,
and shortness of breath go down. Your lungs are now healthier,
lowering your risk of lung infections.
- 1
year after quitting, your risk for heart disease is half that
of a smoker's.
- 5
years after quitting, your risk of having a stroke is the same
as someone who never smoked.
- 10
years after quitting, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half
that of a smoker's. Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat,
esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.
- 15
years after quitting, your risk of heart disease is the same as
someone who never smoked.
Advice
for a smoker's friends and family
Social
support is very important in helping a smoker quit for good. If
you are trying to help someone quit, try to keep the following in
mind:
- Respect
that the quitter is in charge. This is their lifestyle change
and their challenge, not yours.
- Ask
the person whether he or she wants you to call or visit regularly
to see how he or she is doing. Let the person know that it's okay
to call you whenever he or she needs to hear encouraging words.
- Help
the quitter get what she or he needs, like hard candy to suck
on, straws to chew on, fresh veggies cut up for snacking, etc.
- Spend
time doing things with the quitter to keep his or her mind off
smoking - go to the movies or take a walk to get past a craving.
- Help
the quitter with chores, child care, cooking - whatever will help
with the stress of quitting.
- Celebrate
along the way. Quitting smoking is a BIG DEAL!
- Don't
take the quitter's grumpiness personally during his or her nicotine
withdrawal. The symptoms will pass in about two weeks.
- Don't
offer advice. Just ask how you can help with the plan or program
they are using.
Other
Resources
- Online
and telephone support for quitting from the National Cancer Institute,
the American Cancer Society and the CDC: www.smokefree.gov
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How
treatment programs can help you quit and stay quit
-
Cambridge Health Alliance's "Quit for Life" Tobacco Treatment
Program
-
Quitline
-
MGH Quit Smoking Service
Fast
facts about the benefits of quitting
Advice
for a smoker's friends and family
Other
Resources
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