Wicomico County distributes “Quit Kits” to help Smokers kick the Habit
World No Tobacco Day
MARYLAND – The World Health Organization Sponsors World No Tobacco Day every year on May 31st. According to the data, an estimated 37 million youth use tobacco products. The global campaign aims to raise awareness, and the goal is for people to quit smoking tobacco for 24 hours or as the start of a long-term quit attempt.
The Wicomico County Health Department is distributing what they call quit kits. These kits have items to keep the mouth, hands, and brain busy, and to relieve stress. The County is a strong advocate of the date and maintaining this was an important initiative.
Wicomico County acknowledges World No Tobacco Day every year according to Katilin Galow, the health department’s Tobacco Coordinator. She says traditional smoking has always been a problem, but now, e-cigarettes have taken a new toll on health. “It can be motivating for patients who are trying to quit smoking to know that there is such a day that is dedicated to smoking cessation…There’s no control on how much nicotine is being delivered through these vape systems, you know, and some vape systems have more nicotine in them than smoking traditional cigarettes.”
The Department is giving out free kits to help people be successful in their quitting journey. The kits include a mint, Lollipop, and tips on what you can do to distract yourself if you’re experiencing cravings. Ultimately – the goal of the kits is to understand the dependence on nicotine to begin with. “A Pack tracker, and what patients can use this for, is that is actually fits around a packet of cigarettes, and they can keep track of what time of day they take a cigarette, what situation they’re in when they’re smoking a cigarette and it can be very helpful in determining their triggers, their smoking patterns.”
The Health Department says right now that smoking and smoking related diseases kills about 480 million people in a year. Educating adults both young and old on the marketing tactics used by the tobacco industry, is an important step in reducing tobacco use not only by youth, but consumers of all ages.
The Wicomico County Health Department offers free confidential counseling. and they say to Pick up a quit kit for yourself or someone you care about. They also offer education support, free nicotine replacement patches, and nicotine lozenges.
Contact the Wicomico Health Department for more information.
