Dr. Carney announced the start of the state's Smokers' Quit Line today at a news conference at the Vermont Department of Health offices in Burlington. Vermonters will get personal help in the form of factual information, quitting strategies, a series of phone counseling sessions, and referrals to local services. About 22 percent of Vermonters smoke. And 1,000 Vermonters die annually of smoking-related diseases, including heart diseases and cancers. The Vermont Department of Health is working to cut smoking in half by 2010.
Quitting tobacco is the single most important thing people can do for their health.
But quitting isn't easy. Nearly half of all smokers age 18 and older report that they have tried to quit for a day or more in the past year. Now professional help is a free phone call away. Dr. Carney was joined at the news conference by Charon Goldwyn, regional vice president of the American Cancer Society and head of the Quit Line support team in Vermont. We have considerable experience in this arena and we understand that smokers succeed in quitting in a variety of ways, including 'cold turkey'.