National Naval Medical Center Promotes 'Great American Smoke Out'

BETHESDA Md. (NNS) -- National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) Bethesda's Health Promotion Office will host a series of events Nov. 12-19 to promote the benefits of tobacco cessation during a national campaign to help smokers quit.

The American Cancer Society's Great American Smoke Out is an annual event that provides smokers a chance to cut back for a day, said Adrienne Brantley, NNMC's tobacco treatment coordinator. It is an opportunity for smokers to make a long-term plan to quit for good, she said.

The Health Promotion office will set up a booth on Main Street Nov. 12-18 where staff members can sign up to "sponsor" a smoker for the Great American Smoke Out day, Nov. 19. Smokers can also commit to cut back or remain tobacco-free for that day at the booth, she said.

Information and various "smokeless sweets" at the booth, such as gum and lollipops, which smokers can chew on instead of reaching for a cigarette, Brantley said.

The purpose of this event is to help smokers realize they can quit and raise awareness about the risks of smoking, she said. In addition, the campaign will inform smokers of the many resources available to them in terms of tobacco cessation, said Zizette Makary, a staff physician, NNMC's Internal Medicine Clinic.

Makary works closely with the Health Promotion office to help support the tobacco cessation services at the hospital. She is also involved with NNMC's Tobacco Cessation Team, a group of staff members and physicians who work as volunteers to promote tobacco cessation.

At NNMC, there are support group sessions, individual counselors and online courses to help smokers quit, Makary said. Smokers can also ask their health care provider for medication to help cut down the withdraw symptoms.

Though NNMC offers several options for smokers, Makary said, the motivation to quit ultimately must come from within. The Great American Smoke Out will not only benefit those who are thinking about quitting, it will also help health care providers gage how many people within the command smoke, she said, thus ensuring they provide sufficient tobacco cessation services.

For more news from National Naval Medical Center, visit www.navy.mil/local/nnmc/.

Story Number: NNS091105-20 - Release Date: 11/5/2009 9:13:00 PM

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