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Most Colorado smokers (85%) have indicated they want to quit. While quitting can be hard, the combination of proactive coaching and medication (nicotine replacement therapy) can greatly increase your odds of success.
The Colorado QuitLine, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, is a free, confidential telephone coaching service in English or Spanish for anyone calling from a Colorado area code. It’s designed to help you quit smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco products such as cigars and chewing tobacco. By calling QuitLine, you can work with trained Quit Coaches who create a personalized quit plan just for you, as well as gain the support you need to quit smoking for good. Quit Coaches provide individual guidance; quit tips from former tobacco users; tips for coping with stress, cravings, and weight gain; relapse prevention techniques; and scheduled check in calls.
People who use QuitLine can also receive a supply of nicotine patches. To be eligible for the nicotine patches, you need to meet a few cautionary medical requirements and be at least 18 years old. To learn more about the nicotine patch and about what happens when you call the QuitLine, click on the link below.
The Colorado QuitLine is open seven days a week, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you call when the QuitLine is closed, you can leave a message and receive a call back.
Colorado QuitLIne also offers a web-based tobacco cessation service www.coquitline.org This service can be used independently or in combination with the telephonic service. The Web site offers interactive tools and resources.
- Tip #1: Make a quitting plan - pick a quit date, and prepare yourself mentally. List the reasons why you want to quit, and keep that list with you at all times. Reward yourself for a job well done.
- Tip #2: Declare your home and car tobacco-free - you are more likely to be successful in your attempt to quit smoking if you have a tobacco-free rule in place.
- Tip #3: Call the Colorado QuitLine - a free, confidential telephone coaching service. Call 1 800 QUIT-NOW.
- Tip #4: Alter your patterns - keep yourself away from situations where you might feel the need to smoke. Also try to keep away from caffeine and alcohol for the first few weeks.
- Tip #5: Use the patch - nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) will help increase your chances of success. Take advantage of free Colorado QuitLine coaching to receive a free supply of nicotine patches.
- Tip #6: Save money - when you quit, you’ll save about $2,000-$3,000 a year on cigarettes if you’re like most average smokers. Make a list of all the other things you could buy with that money.
- Tip #7: Let your body heal - just 20 minutes after you quit, your blood pressure and pulse slow to normal rates. Just 8 hours after you quit, the oxygen level in your blood increases.
- Tip #8: Rid your body of nicotine - after 72 hours, nicotine, the addictive substance in cigarettes, is already out of your body. You’ll notice a big difference.
- Tip #9: Improve your health - after 1-9 months, your lungs can hold more air; coughing, congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease; and your overall body energy increases.
- Tip #10: Improve your quality of life - food will taste better, your sense of smell will return to normal, and you’ll have more energy to participate in day-to-day activities.
- Tip #11: Live longer - the lives of men who smoke are cut short by an average of 13.2 years, and the lives of women who smoke are cut short by an average of 14.5 years.
- Tip #12: Look and feel younger - when you quit, you halt the damaging effects of tobacco on your appearance, including premature wrinkling of skin, bad breath, stained teeth, and yellow fingernails.
