Wyomingites who want to quit tobacco have new tools available to them.
Wyoming Department of Health has partnered with National Jewish Health, a Denver hospital specializing in respiratory health, to beef up the Cowboy state’s tobacco cessation program.
The health department already offers nicotine patches and gum, coaching, and some financial help to cover smoking-cessation drugs. Now, it also offers counseling for pregnant tobacco users and people who chew.
Kim Deti with the Wyoming Department of Health says participants benefit from both medical access and positive reinforcement.
“They can get free coaching support,” Deti said, “and studies have shown that if you put those things together it really increases your chance of being successful in quitting tobacco.”
Deti says the state boasts a 35 percent success rate in helping tobacco users quit. This is five times the national average of users who try to quit on their own.
The program’s new website can be found at quitwyo.org.
