Help for smokers

In New Jersey, approximately 1.15 million residents - or 17 percent of adults - smoke. Of that number, nearly 76 percent want to quit, yet without seeking help only a little better than 10 percent succeed. To help improve the odds of success, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) offers a comprehensive menu of services to help smokers quit. The three Quit Services offered by DHSS’s Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program are: New Jersey Quitcenters: a network of seven smoking cessation clinics located across the state that offers a face-to-face approach to quitting. The program combines intensive individual or group counseling, with the supervised use of nicotine patches, gum and inhalers. Centers provide services on a sliding fee scale and clients can purchase over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy products at a reduced cost. For NJ Quitcenter locations, log onto www.nj.quitnet.com or call 1-866-NJ -STOPS. New Jersey Quitline: (1-866-NJ-STOPS) a free, telephone-based counseling and referral service, available six days a week in 26 different languages. NJ Quitline counselors have been trained by the American Cancer Society. Using NJ Quitline, smokers are three times as likely to succeed - with more than 30 percent of registered users reporting they were tobacco free after six months. New Jersey QuitNet: (www.nj.quitnet.com) a free, online information, counseling and referral service that offers a variety of resources. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. NJ QuitNet users have access to trained counselors. Online chat rooms provide real-time support from other smokers. Other tools include a quitting calendar, quitting strategies, and a directory of local treatment programs and support groups. Information on the state’s comprehensive Quit Services Web site is at www.njquit2win.com.