Today is the Great American Smokeout, an annual event to encourage smokers to kick the habit. Kenneth Saucier with the Office of Behavioral Health within the state health department said you if need help quitting you might want to pick up the phone and call 1-800-QUIT -NOW.
“They can get assistance there, they can get free coaching, as well as they can reach out to the Office of Behavioral Health. We can direct them to local resources that are free,” said Saucier.
The Great American Smokeout which began in 1977 is a day set aside to encourage smokers to not light up for at least one day. Saucier said that 9 out of 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer are smokers and COPD is linked to smoking.
“So, if people can quit smoking, quit one day, then maybe they’ll be able to quit smoking for the rest of their life and so that will help with their overall health,” said Saucier.
Saucier said unfortunately Louisiana has a high smoking rate compared to others and also suffers the consequences with 7,200 adults who die annually from smoking and about 9,800 children under the age of 18 who will ultimately die prematurely due to smoking.
“The cost is about $1.9 billion in annual healthcare costs,” said Saucier.
You can also visit QuitWithUsLA.org for more smoking cessation resources or contact the Office of Behavioral Health at the Louisiana Department of Public Health at 225-342-2540.
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