802 Quits offers help to stop smoking

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802 quitsNEWPORT — According to a study published in December in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a graphic but effective national media campaign “Tips From Former Smokers,” has resulted in a 12 percent increase in quit attempts nationally.

In 2012, 62 percent of the 81,000 adult Vermonters who smoked attempted to quit.

In part due to the Tips From Former Smokers campaign, calls to the Vermont Quit Line, 800-QUIT-NOW, more than doubled in 2013 compared to previous years. In 2014, the number of coaching calls completed by lower income Vermonters more than doubled over 2013.

Two of the 30-second ads titled “Amanda,” and “Shawn,” are currently airing in Vermont as part of the Health Department’s overall tobacco cessation outreach. Research with Vermont tobacco users also led the Health Department to produce local testimonials, which are airing now along with CDC’s Tips ads.

“Tips From Former Smokers are tough to watch, but evidence shows that they are reaching people who most need our free resources to quit using tobacco,” said Rhonda Williams, chronic disease prevention chief for the Health Department. “We are committed to expanding the reach of these effective CDC ads.”

802Quits provides Vermonters with advice, tips, tools, and stories to help quit tobacco.

You can visit 802Quits.org for resources and information on the four ways to get help, including the Vermont Quit Partners, a team of people in communities devoted to providing support and motivation to help tobacco users throughout the quitting process.

The Tips from Former Smokers campaign marked the first federally funded national mass media antismoking campaign.

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