Quit Smoking Initiative Launched

A new program in Missouri is designed to help people kick the habit. KSMU's Michele Skalicky has more...

The Missouri Foundation for Health is behind the anti-smoking initiative. Matt Kuhlenbeck, program director with the Missouri Foundation for Health, says smoking is a big problem in the state…

"The state rate of smoking is about 23%. The rate in Springfield is 26% compared to the national average of around 19%, so we are one of the highest smoking prevalent states in the country."

Kuhlenbeck says that’s partly due to the price of tobacco in the state. He says tobacco prices here are higher only than in one other state. And he says there needs to be greater access to programs that help people quit smoking.That’s why the Foundation launched a new program designed to do just that.He says the new initiative is made up of two parts: one is a hotline: 1-800-QUIT-NOW. The other is a website… www.BecomeanEx.org …

"What is does is it provides an opportunity for individuals to quit and learn about their tobacco habit in an online setting, and then it also has a component of an online community similar to what you see in your existing social networks so that folks can get connected with people who may be in a similar situation that they're in."

Kuhlenbeck says the website and hotline focus on three main things: Congratulating people on taking the first step towards quitting and providing them with the tools to be able to kick the habit. Two, is understanding the tobacco addiction—the physical effect of smoking and help that’s available to address that and the third part is the social networking…

"Talking with your friends, your family, your coworkers to help you through the process of quitting so that they know 'I'm trying and I need your help and these are the things you can help me with through that process.'"

The new anti-smoking program is free. The quit line is open 7 am to 11 pm. You can visit the website anytime. Again, it’s 1-800-QUIT-NOW andwww.BecomeanEx.org.