Tobacco Independence Program
SPONSORED BY: St. Elizabeth's Hospital Respiratory Therapy Department
Congratulations on taking a vital step to improve your health!
St. Elizabeth's Hospital appreciates your interest in our Tobacco Independence Program (T.I.P.).
Our voluntary cessation program provides individuals with Nicotine Replacement Products information, motivation, and support to quit using cigarettes or chewing tobacco. The facilitators provide the options, guidance for choosing, and support for the choices participants make as they design their own approach to staying tobacco-free. We apply cooperative learning to give individuals the knowledge, motivation, and action steps to move toward a healthier, tobacco-free lifestyle.
Despite a strong social commitment to promote tobacco-free environments and stay tobacco-free, we still see lots of images on television and other visual media showing people lighting up a cigarette and puffing away on the smoke. Tobacco smoke is made up of 4,000 chemicals, including nicotine, tar and gases such as carbon monoxide. Chewing tobacco contains many of the same cancer-causing chemicals as cigarettes and is hardly safer because the chew has direct contact with the tissue in your mouth causing sores of your mouth, gums, tongue and throat.
Nicotine is an extremely addictive chemical and affects your health by making the blood vessels in your body narrower and making it harder for the blood to flow through your body. This will raise your blood pressure and can lead to health problems that can affect how much you enjoy your life now and later on.
People who remain tobacco-free need strong motivation if they want to be successful in resisting the temptations to start smoking. Think about the harm you are causing yourself when you light up that cigarette. Think about the activities you may not take part in because you become addicted to nicotine, and how this addiction will affect your health and decrease the amount of money you have to spend on other things. This will help others around you who also want to break free and become smoke free.
Staying tobacco-free is not an easy thing to do, but if you think of the benefits, it is worth it in the long run.
Call 234-2120, ext. 1540 for more program information.
