Ready to kick the habit?
CMH offers free smoking cessation classes, counseling

“I believe most smokers want to quit,” says Robin Baranowski, RN, health educator at Calvert Memorial Hospital, “but they fear failure.”

Studies show it takes some smokers three or more tries to quit for good. “You learn something every time you try, says Baranowski, a specially trained facilitator, who teaches smoking cessation at CMH.

The hospital’s Community Wellness program provides free classes for the public and its employees at convenient locations throughout Calvert. The classes address such issues as identifying triggers, developing coping skills, making lifestyle changes, creating a support system and preventing relapse.

“The classes help smokers go through the step-by-step process of quitting,” says Baranowski. “The structure helps them plan for success.”

The hospital also provides free individual counseling as a way to help those who need a little extra help in quitting. For more information or to register, call 410-535-8233. CMH is offering additional incentives for its employees, including free nicotine patches if they join a class and $100 if they quit.

Although some people can quit without medication, Baranowski says it does help with cravings. “Withdrawal symptoms – like irritability, fatigue and insomnia,” she explained, “usually decrease after three days and continue to decline over two to three weeks.”

The hospital’s Healthy Alternatives program also offers hypnotherapy and acupuncture, which may help with cravings and withdrawal. There is a fee for these services. For information, call 410-414-4507.

CMH is also stepping up its efforts to control secondhand smoke on its campus. The new policy, effective Oct. 1, keeps smoking away from the hospital’s main entrances. There are designated smoking areas for employees behind the cafeteria, in front of the annex and next to the medical office building.

Visitors and patients will only be permitted to smoke in the Turner garden and in a designated area between the medical office building and the hospital.

“We need everyone’s help to be successful,” says Kasia Drozynski, director of Public Relations and Marketing. “We hope that employees and visitors will respect the policy and encourage others, as well.”

• Half of all people who have ever smoked have quit.
• If you’ve tried to quit before, consider it practice.
• Using a nicotine patch or gum can double your chance of quitting.
• Hang in there – cravings usually pass in a few minutes.
• If you can make it through the first day, you are 10 times more likely to succeed.
• Within 20 minutes of quitting, your blood pressure and heart rate drop to normal.
• Within a few weeks, you will be able to breathe easier and your circulation will improve.
• A year after quitting, your risk of heart disease will be cut in half.