Wyoming Helps Smokers Quit [AUDIO]

The Wyoming Department of Help has a message for smokers who are thinking about a New Year’s resolution to quit. The message is: Do, quit smoking and the health department will help you.

How much help? The Wyoming Quit Tobacco Program will send you a voucher to pay for nicotine supplements or prescription drugs, and they also have tobacco quitting counselors available.

The counseling and vouchers are generous enough for the American Lung Association to name Wyoming as one of the five most “quit friendly” states in the nation, according to a health department release.

Dr. Wendy Braund, state health officer and Public Health Division senior administrator, said tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death with no safe level of use.

No judgment, just help:

“What we do is help people deal with not only the triggers, but how to almost relearn their life without tobacco. Pretty much the days of quitting cold turkey are over and we stress that when they call, that we’re here to help; we’re not here to point the finger.”

Dr. Braund says about 20 percent of Wyoming residents smoke. For more information, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, or 1-800-784-8669, or log on to http://wy.quitnet.com to enroll.