NVRH to offer tobacco cessation course

ST. JOHNSBURY, VT (August 9, 2021) – To offer more support to those who wish to quit smoking, Community Connections at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) will be offering Freedom From Smoking, a group course designed by the American Lung Association. The course, which is free for Vermonters, starts on August 31 and runs until October 12, 2021.

If you are ready to quit nicotine, Freedom From Smoking can help you take action by giving you the skills and tools for success. The curriculum is designed to build your confidence up to week four, your quit day, and provide you extra support through another four sessions.

Because most people already know that smoking is not healthy, Freedom From Smoking focuses on how to quit, rather than on why. According to the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking webpage, the program uses pharmacology and psychology to help tobacco users control their behaviors. It also acknowledges that there are many methods to effectively quit, and therefore the program includes a variety of evidence-based techniques.

Approximately 15% of adults in Caledonia County smoke. And most of these people likely know that smoking causes cancer. But there are other ways that smoking can affect health. For example, smoking has been connected to blindness, type 2 diabetes, erectile dysfunction, ectopic pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, gum disease and even fertility issues.

Freedom From Smoking has been helping participants quit for over 35 years and has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals live healthier lives. The American Lung Association webpage claims that those who participate in Freedom From Smoking are six times more likely to be smoke-free one year later than those who quit on their own.

“Because the program offers an evidence-based approach to quitting, it really supports you in changing your behavior,” program facilitator and NVRH Tobacco Treatment Specialist Lynn Goulding says. “Take the step towards better health today!”

This Freedom From Smoking is an intensive eight-week group course facilitated by NVRH Tobacco Treatment Specialist Lynn Goulding. The first virtual class will be 1:30 – 3:30 PM on August 31, 2021. To sign-up for this program, please contact Jen Grant at 802-748-9405, ex. 1026 or jennifergr@nchcvt.org.

For more information about the American Lung Association.www.lung.org/