Stop Smoking Now!

Spring is finally here and so are the herds of smokers huddling in and around the doorways of the businesses where they work.
Many of these “outcasts of society,” the smokers, made a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking - only to fail using the “Cold Turkey” method. The stress in our daily lives often makes it hard to give up habits of comfort - like smoking and even eating fattening foods.
However, now through May 15, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) will help smokers to stop smoking. They have launched a program to provide nicotine patches and gum to those who call 3-1-1 free.
“Nine out of 10 smokers want to quit, but quitting can be tough,” according to Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden.
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the city. Cigarettes kill 9,000 New Yorkers a year - more than 25 a day according to the DOHMH.
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation continue to offer free or low-cost smoking cessation programs at Elmhurst Hospital Center at 79-01 Broadway in Elmhurst and at the Queens Hospital Center at 82-70 164th Street in Jamaica.
According to Free & Clear, a company that provides tobacco cessation programs to employers around the country, the cost to businesses of their puffing workers is $157 billion per year in lost productivity and medical expenses.
The total cost to a company per smoker, per year, is over $5,600, including $1,882 for smoke breaks during the workday, $1,623 for excess medical expenditures and $341 for missed workdays due to sickness.
We encourage you to take this opportunity to quit your deadly habit or to help your loved ones to break the nicotine cycle. Smokers will save a small fortune by not buying cigarettes anymore.
A smoker’s chance of heart attack drops significantly in just 24 hours after inhaling their last cigarette.
In just 48 hours, their sense of smell and taste begin to improve.
In 15 years off tobacco, their risk of death returns to the level of people who have never smoked - a nice reward for stopping a disgusting habit.
We ask all employers to examine their smoking policies. Invest in anti-smoking programs for your workers; you will reap benefits far in excess of the cost of such programs. Some employers across the country even consider monetary incentives for workers who quit successfully.
Effective help is available; get yourself a quit buddy - a smoker to quit with you - and make sure you are not one of 440,000 people who will die this year from tobacco-related diseases and cancers.