For Scott Hall, the wake-up call to stop smoking wasn't his migraine headaches, which the Port St. Lucie man attributed to his stressful job. It wasn't the emergency trip to the hospital last year, thinking he was having a heart attack.
It wasn't even when the doctor told him he was actually on his way to having a stroke.
It was simply this: After two days in the hospital, the first thing Scott Hall did when he got into his car in the parking lot was to light up a cigarette. "I thought, 'how bad is this?' "
During the 28 years he smoked, Hall, 45, tried to quit several times, never lasting for more than a week. Then he signed up for the "Quit to Get Fit" program Martin Memorial Health Services began offering a year ago.
The six-week program features weekly one-hour sessions and provides free nicotine replacement therapy to those eligible. Everything is free, thanks to a grant from the Florida Department of Health, awarded to Martin Memorial in partnership with Everglades Area Health Education Center.
"We help the whole family," said Marilyn Leeds, who helped secure the grant that allows Martin Memorial to help residents in Martin and St. Lucie counties through classes in businesses and the community. "We change the whole family dynamic when mom is a non-smoker. We say, change the smoker, change the family, change the community."
A nonsmoker for five months, Hall is one of more than 700 people who have gone through the program. About 70 percent have quit successfully.
"My migraine headaches went away and I've never felt better," said Hall, who used to smoke two packs a day. "The classes taught me to break my old habits and gave me strategies to cut down the amount of cigarettes I was smoking before my quit date."
Another participant, 35-year-old Leslee Rosamund, wanted to stop smoking for her children. They had seen her "quit" many times and doubted she could really do it.
"I had started smoking when I was 13 and never knew how good it felt to breathe or even laugh without that terrible deep cough," said the postal worker, who will celebrate one year as a nonsmoker in July.
What: free smoking cessation classes from Martin Memorial Health Systems
Get rid of lingering nicotine odors that could trigger cravings by changing your toothbrush, pillowcase and mattress pad; and deep cleaning your car, home and clothing.
Identify yourself as a nonsmoker, instead of someone who just is not smoking currently. If someone offers you a cigarette, say, "No thank you, I don't smoke."
Figure out why and when you smoke and figure out ways to avoid or respond differently to those triggers.
Mark the day you plan to quit and prepare for it. Have a list of ten things you can do instead of smoking a cigarette. If you're using the nicotine patch, gum or lozenges, have a supply on hand.
Why Quit Smoking?
The effects of smoking kill more than 400,000 Americans each year.
Tobacco use costs the American economy over $100 billion a year in healthcare costs and lost work time.
A person who smokes one pack a day will pay about $1500 per year for cigarettes.
Smoking is a major cause of heart disease and increases the risk of stroke and high blood pressure.
If you quit today, within five years your risk of stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker; within 10 years your life expectancy is that of a non-smoker.
Source: Florida Area Health Education Centers Network
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