Ocean County, NJ -- There is one thing that most former smokers will agree on – quitting is not easy, but it can be accomplished. Like cocaine or heroin, the nicotine found in cigarettes, and all tobacco products, is highly addictive. In fact, according to the Institute for Prevention (IFP), Barnabas Health Behavioral Health Network, an affiliate of Barnabas Health, people may try to stop smoking several times before they successfully quit for good.
Lakewood resident Ann Marie McCartney, a Financial Counselor at Kimball Medical Center, also an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, was no exception. When she turned to Helene Long, a Tobacco Treatment Specialist with the IFP, the 45-year-old mother of a 17-year old special-needs child was starting her quit journey for the third time in her 29-year smoking history.
“I was out of breath all the time and very tired,” described Ann Marie when discussing what prompted her to reach out to Helene this past March. “I knew it was from smoking. I was up to a pack every day.”
According to Helene, as an employee of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, Ann Marie was entitled to eight weeks of free tobacco cessation treatment, free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a customized quit-smoking plan, and ongoing individual, group and/or family counseling. Helene recommended Ann Marie start the nicotine weaning process by using a nicotine replacement patch.
Having had worked with Helene during a quit attempt in 2010, Ann Marie was familiar with some of the strategies that would be reinforced during their individual and group meetings. “The hardest part of the day for me was the morning,” says Ann Marie, describing when her nicotine cravings were the strongest. “One of the things I learned working with Helene was that I had to change my routine. Instead of having my coffee at home in the morning, I would wait until I got to work. It helped.”
Ann Marie’s routine changes did not end there. She no longer frequented convenience stores where she would typically buy cigarettes and tried to avoid spending time with smokers – even her sister. What’s her advice to smokers considering quitting and to those in the process? “When you get a craving you will soon realize, like I did, that the urge does go away and it doesn’t last as long as you think. You can do it. After almost 30 years, I did and now I can feel more confident that I will be around to take care of my son.”
For more information about the Tobacco Dependence Treatment Program offered by the Institute for Prevention, please call 973-926-7978 (northern NJ) or 732-886-4149 (central/southern NJ).
Date: June 15, 2011
Contact – Public Relations
ltortorello@barnabashealth.org
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