If you’re a Louisiana resident who started smoking before September
1, 1988 and would like help quitting, North Oaks has a program for you.
And it’s FREE.
The
North Oaks Smoking Cessation Clinic is now open and can provide the guidance and support eligible smokers
need to stay on track and stop smoking for good. To sign up or learn more,
call the North Oaks Smoking Cessation Clinic at (985) 230-QUIT [7848].
Services are provided by Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialists and Health
Coaches, and include:
• Five visits with a health care provider
• Nine individual and nine group counseling sessions
• Medications (such as Chantix, Wellbutrin and nicotine replacement
therapies) to help curb cravings.
The combination of counseling and medication gives smokers the best chance to quit.
“Studies have found that smokers who work with a counselor, combined
with taking these medications or nicotine replacement products, are three
times more likely to successfully quit smoking than people who try to
quit without any help,” affirms North Oaks Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Bouffard.
The health benefits of quitting smoking start as soon as 20 minutes after
your last puff. Within that short amount of time, your blood pressure
decreases. Within 8 hours, the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood
drops back to normal, while oxygen increases to normal levels. Nerve endings,
which can be damaged by smoking, begin to repair themselves within 48
hours – and your sense of smell and taste will improve.
“It’s amazing how the body can repair itself,” states
North Oaks Health Coach Kaley Eleew. “One year after that last puff,
the added risk of heart disease declines to half of that of a smoker,
and 5 years out your risk of lung cancer drops by one-half. In 10 years,
your risk of all smoking-related cancers decreases by 50 percent, and
15 years after that last cigarette, your risk of heart disease is equal
to that of a non-smoker.”
The
North Oaks Smoking Cessation Clinic is located within the
North Oaks Pulmonology Clinic at 15813 Paul Vega, MD, Drive, Suite 401A in Hammond.