Coupons, deals, health: so many good reasons to quit smoking
Although smoking cessation tends to be a New Year’s resolution sort of thing, trying to quit now could save you some money.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health has teamed up with Ralphs Supermarkets to offer two-week supplies (one per customer) of nicotine patches or gum at 47 participating Ralphs stores (see a map at www.laquits.com). That’s a savings of at least $30, not to mention the possibility of extra years of life and a reduction in healthcare costs for treatment of such diseases as emphysema and cancer if you pull it off.
Standard length of treatment with nicotine replacement therapy is seven to 12 weeks. Want to continue beyond the two weeks? Nicotine replacement products can be paid for with flexible spending accounts, and you can even find some $5 and $7 coupons.
“Quitting is far from easy -- smokers can sometimes need five to 10 attempts before they’re successful,” says Dr. Jonathan Fielding, health director of Los Angeles County. The cost of so many attempts can add up if smokers try replacement therapy or counseling each time. Fielding says that, although the joint offer with Ralphs has been ongoing, at last check supplies remained.
Smokers who opt for the free offer may want to couple it with some counseling, advises Fielding and many smoking cessation experts. That two-pronged approach of medication and counseling has been found to be most effective at helping people quit.
Dr. David Tinkelman, an expert on smoking cessation at National Jewish Health, a leading respiratory care research center in Denver, says the combination “allows the smoker to have knowledgeable support that helps them in this difficult process of breaking an addiction and also a therapy that helps them specifically deal with the inevitable withdrawal symptoms.”
But that counseling, or at least several sessions, is free as well. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offers five free counseling sessions via phone for smokers through the California Smokers Helpline. Go to www.californiasmokershelpline.org or call (800) NOBUTTS (662-8887).
If you’ve tried phone counseling but still couldn’t quit for good, you may want to try longer-term programs. Most hospitals offer multi-session programs led by specialists. At UCLA Medical Center, a seven-session program is $120, and while that may seem steep, it works out to about 20 packs of cigarettes and might be a good way to use any flexible spending account money you have left. Hospital programs may be able to offer some discounts for people un- or underinsured.
If your doctor has suggested prescription drugs such as Zyban and the cost is beyond your reach, consider checking the Prescription Assistance Program run by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Assn. to see if you are eligible for free or reduced-cost drugs. Check the website at www.pparx.org or call (888) 477-2669.
Not yet ready to quit? At least think about it as a New Year’s resolution. Within 20 minutes of a last cigarette, your blood pressure returns to normal. Within five years of a last cigarette, your risk of a stroke, if you have no other risk factors, is that of a nonsmoker’s.
As a precursor to quitting, read up on other benefits and various options for giving up the habit at laquits.com/GetHelpQuitting.html, which offers 13 websites with information and resources.
Still on the fence? Click on “Ready to Quit?” at the bottom right of the home page. Fill in your phone number, and a smoking cessation counselor from the California Smokers Helpline will call you.
Sometimes, says Linda Aragon, a spokeswoman for the program, getting that call can be the extra push a smoker needs to try quitting.
