Your November resolution: Quit smoking for the Great American Smokeout

From the Florida Department of Health Orange County

The Florida Department of Health in Orange County (DOH-Orange) encourages Floridians to use Tobacco Free Florida’s free tools and services to make a plan to quit smoking for the American Cancer Society’s 44^th annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday, November 21.

Tobacco Free Florida aims to educate Floridians on the various free quit resources available in the state and support them through the process – on the Great American Smokeout and year-round.

“As members of Orange County communities, we are all responsible for creating environments that promote health and well-being for us all,” said Dr. Tralonda Triplett, Community Health Director. “The Great American Smoke Out (GASO) is an excellent opportunity to connect, inform, assist and encourage individuals to initiate plans to stop smoking. What is certain is there is no change that begins without a solid plan. Active support of GASO by employers improves the health status of workforces now and in the future, and contributes to organizational strength and sustainability. The Florida Department of Health in Orange County and Tobacco Free Florida program congratulates and applauds all allies in this effort to make Florida the healthiest state in the nation.”

Orange County employers such as Disney, Universal Studios, Hyatt Regency Orlando, University of Central Florida, Full Sail University, Rollins College and Marriot Grande Vista are actively participating in collaboration with DOH-Orange Tobacco Free Florida to encourage smokers to quit tobacco for one day. “QUIT YOUR WAY” services have been offered to their employers to support them on this journey.

Most adult cigarette smokers say that they want to quit,^[i] but quitting smoking is hard and may require several attempts.^[ii], Creating a quit plan and using proven-effective resources, like Tobacco Free Florida, can significantly increase your chances of quitting smoking for good. [iv]^,[v]^,[vi] Smokers can and do quit smoking. In fact, today there are more former smokers than current smokers in Florida.

Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way program offers free Phone Quit, Group Quit, and Web Quit services, in addition to individual tools like texting support, a Quit Guide and helpful emails. Free nicotine replacement therapy – nicotine patches, gum or lozenges – are available to tobacco users who are 18 or older, if medically appropriate.

For more information about Quit Your Way, please visit tobaccofreeflorida.com/quityourway.

About Tobacco Free Florida

The Florida Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Since the program began in 2007, more than 212,000 Floridians have successfully quit using one of Tobacco Free Florida's free tools and services. There are now approximately 451,000 fewer adult smokers in Florida than there was 10 years ago, and the state has saved $17.7 billion in health care costs. To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way services, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.