City offers free help to quit smoking

You can stop smoking right now and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) will help you. It is again offering nicotine replacement patches and gum at no cost to New Yorkers who request them via the city’s 3-1-1 hotline.
The program, a repeat of last year’s widely successful campaign, runs through May 15.
According to DOHMH, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in New York City. Cigarettes kill 9,000 New Yorkers a year - more than 25-a-day - and more than 1 million New Yorkers still smoke.
As a second prong of the effort DOHMH is also launching a multimedia advertising campaign featuring Ronaldo Martinez, a 39-year-old smoker who lost his voice to throat cancer. Martinez starred in a series of announcements with the tagline, “Nothing will ever be the same.”
Martinez will reprise his message, in print and on radio and TV in both English and Spanish media outlets, using the mechanical device which enables him to speak in a buzzing monotone. This year an Internet campaign will allow users to send a pre-recorded message from Martinez to friends and loved ones, encouraging them to quit.
“Nine out of 10 smokers want to quit, but quitting can be tough,” said Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden. “Most New Yorkers who ever smoked have already quit. For those who are still smoking, nicotine patches or gum can double your chances of quitting for good,” he said, adding, “Those who want help quitting should call 3-1-1 today.”
Assistance with quitting is also available through the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), which continues to offer free or low-cost services to help people quit, including counseling and other resources, at more than a dozen sites citywide.
Nearly 22,000 people enrolled in HHC’s Smoking Cessation program last year, and many were still smoke-free after six months. In Queens, there are HHC Smoking Cessation Facilities at Elmhurst Hospital Center at 79-01 Broadway in Elmhurst and the Queens Hospital Center, 82-70 164th Street in Jamaica.
For more information, visit the DOHMH web site at nyc.gov/health.