New smoking restrictions are another reason to quit for good

A question for smokers: How many times have you tried to quit? Once? Ten times? More?

It’s discouraging to keep trying to do something you know you should do and not have it stick. But here are two reasons to consider quitting again:

• There has been no smoking allowed anywhere on Salem Health’s main campus since March 2016.
• The American Lung Association says you can quit for good if you treat those previous attempts as steps on the road to future success.

According to Freedom from Smoking® class instructor Nancy Baldwin, removing barriers to success is what Freedom From Smoking classes at the CHEC are all about. The seven-week course helps smokers recognize the situations that trigger their desire to smoke and gives them strategies to overcome the urge permanently.

“A lot of smokers have built their daily routine around the process of smoking but don’t realize it,” said Baldwin. “When they quit, they have to learn how to do normal activities again.”

To help class members work around the little voice telling them to smoke, Baldwin makes sure her Freedom From Smoking classes keep everyone occupied. She hands out small jars of Play-Doh, puzzles and brain teasers—anything to keep people’s hands and minds busy.

Baldwin said that one of the things that makes the class so successful is the support network that develops. “The group dynamic is the driver for the quit for a lot of these people,” she said. “They get in these groups; they get to know one another and support one another.”

That positive support is ultimately what makes the class work. “I think that everybody can be successful,” Baldwin said. “Our biggest hurdle is just making sure that they know they can be successful. We give them a little boost, and they just run with it.”  

Learn how to make sure the next time you quit smoking is the one that sticks with you for life by taking the American Lung Association’s Freedom from Smoking® class at Salem Health’s Community Health Education Center. The seven-week course helps smokers recognize the situations that trigger their desire to smoke and gives them strategies to permanently overcome the urge. The program is free. Register online or call 503-814-CHEC (2432).