Help And Resources For Arizona Smokers Looking To Quit As Smoking Ban Takes Effect
05/07/07
There are close to one million
adult smokers in the state of Arizona (1). On May 1st, they will have an
added incentive to quit as Arizona implements a statewide smoking ban that
prohibits indoor smoking in public places and will require a 20-foot s
Nearly 70 percent of smokers nationwide want to quit; however, many
people wrongly believe they can simply put down their cigarettes and walk
away forever (2). But while "cold turkey" is the most common method people
try, it is also the least successful. In fact, 97 percent of all cold
turkey quit attempts fail (3).
"Quitting smoking can be one of the most difficult and most important
steps a smoker can take to improve his or her overall health," said Dr.
Keith Kaback, Chairman of the Board of the Tucson region American Lung
Association, emergency physician at Tucson Medical Center and GSK Consumer
Healthcare spokesperson. "With tobacco use being the leading preventable
cause of death in the U.S. (2), it's important to provide smokers who are
interested in quitting with tools and resources to help them quit for
good."
Quitters can double their chances of success by using therapeutic
nicotine products to help reduce craving and nicotine withdrawal symptoms
(3). GSK Consumer Healthcare's therapeutic nicotine products, Nicorette(R)
gum, NicoDerm(R) CQ(R) patch, and Commit(R) lozenge are designed to provide
a temporary alternative source of nicotine, without exposing the quitter to
the more than 4,000 chemicals and at least 69 known or suspected
carcinogens in tobacco smoke (4). People interested in quitting smoking are
encouraged to visit