(Radio Iowa) – Nearly 17-percent of Iowans smoke, and if you’re one of them, you probably already know how hard it is to quit. Michelle Gilbertson, a wellness education specialist at Emplify Health by Gundersen, says it can be overwhelming trying to beat a nicotine dependency, but it’s far from impossible. She suggests starting small.
“A lot of times people try quitting cold turkey, they aren’t able to be successful and they just totally give up in trying to quit,” Gilbertson says. “I would recommend trying to quit by reducing how much you use each day and then from there reduce how much you use per week, so that over time, you’re eventually going to quit.” For many Iowans, smoking is a crutch to fall back on during times of stress, and in social situations, especially when you’re out drinking.
“If you are going to be drinking alcohol and you know that you’re the type of person to be tempted to smoke or use nicotine products, it’s best to avoid that situation altogether,” she says. “Or you could try finding an accountability buddy, a friend, a family member, a trusted individual in your life that can hold you accountable to help you stay away from smoking or using nicotine.” Quitting nicotine is hard, and Gilbertson says you shouldn’t be afraid to seek out the help of a professional.
“Reach out to your doctor. They can help you get medications prescribed to help you through the quitting process,” she says. “You can also call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which is the state tobacco Quitline, where you can get connected to a quit coach to help you through the quitting process, help you establish good routines when it comes to reducing your tobacco use.” State health officials say tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death for Iowans, taking the lives of more than 51-hundred adults each year.
Money is also a big motivating factor to quit smoking, as a pack of cigarettes is now averaging about ten dollars in Iowa. “If you are smoking a pack a day, $10 times seven days a week, that’s $70. What else could you do to use that money? Could you use it to treat yourself? Can you go on a vacation? Can you buy yourself something nice? Can you treat yourself to a massage?” Gilbertson says. “Sometimes when you’re going through the quitting process, setting up a reward system is going to be super important.”
An Iowa H-H-S report says the estimated annual health care costs in Iowa directly related to tobacco use totals nearly one-point-three billion dollars. An American Lung Association survey finds for every 100 Iowans who smoke, 70 of them want to quit, while 52 of them tried to quit in the past year.
Emplify Health by Gundersen has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.
https://www.quitlineiowa.org
