Smoking Cessation
Tips and Resources to Help you Quit Smoking
We all know that smoking is hazardous to our health. If it was easy to stop smoking, you would have done it already. Here are a few resources and tips if you would like to stop smoking.
The state of WV has a free resource called the Quitline. West Virginia’s Quitline is FREE to all WV residents over the age of 18. The Quitline offers four (4) proactive coaching calls and unlimited reactive calls. Participants are eligible for eight (8) weeks of FREE nicotine replacement therapy – patches, gum, or lozenges.
Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669) or 1-877-966-8784 to speak to a Quitline Representative.
The National Cancer Institute also has a similar resource.
Call 877-44U-QUIT (877-448-7848)
The National Cancer Institute’s trained counselors provide information and support for quitting in English and Spanish. Call Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.
If you would like to read some tips for smoking cessation success, there are some available here from West Virginia Family Health.
Why am I providing this information to you? Well, first of all, because I am required to under a federal government program called MIPS.
Plus, smoking is hazardous to your health, including your skin health. This is a great article on the adverse effects of smoking on the skin. A few of the adverse effects of smoking on the skin described in this article include….
- Temporary yellowing of fingers and fingernails
- Facial wrinkles and furrows (e.g., crows’ feet at the lateral canthus, vertical ear crease, smoker’s lines around lips)
- Uneven skin coloring: grayish, yellow with prominent blood vessels (telangiectasia)
- Dry, coarse skin.
- Impaired wound healing, including slower recovery from skin surgery.
- Doubles the risk of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer.
- Increases the risk of lupus by ten times.
If you have any further questions, I encourage you to discuss this with us or your primary care physician at your next appointment.
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