A popular New Year’s Resolution is to quit smoking.  According to the Center for Disease Control, smoking is the number one cause of preventable death and disease in the United States.  People who smoke one pack a day spend an average of $2,140 per year on cigarettes.

Cigarettes are known to cause lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory systems, infertility and can cause low birth weight in babies.

There are a number of free resources available for people who are trying to quit, according to information provided by Barb Jasper, RN at the Mineral County Health Department.  

They include:

The Montana QUIT Line  1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). This is a free QUIT Line which offers a number of resources, including free quit coaching, a free quit plan, free educational materials, referrals and medications.  

Another resource is Smokefree.gov, which offers details on how to create an effective quit plan.

Also, Smokefree TXT is a 24/7 program that sends encouragement, advice, and tips to help smokers quit. Just text QUIT to 47848, answer a few questions and participants will start to receive messages.

Another option to help smokers quit is to use medications. The most common are nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), which give a smokers body a little of the nicotine that it craves without the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. Patches, gum, and lozenges are other NRT’s that can be purchased over the counter.  Up to an 8 week supply may be provided for free to enrolled QUIT Line participants.  Doctor can also prescribe medications that do not contain nicotine.

For additional information, contact Barb Jasper, RN at the Mineral County Health Department at 822-3564.