Texas Quitline Can Help Tobacco Users Quit in the New Year

Texas Department of State Health Services NEWS RELEASE Dec. 23, 2013 Texas Quitline Can Help Tobacco Users Quit in the New Year Many tobacco users make a New Year’s resolution to give up their habit, and the state’s Quitline is ready to take calls from people looking for help. The Texas Department of State Health Services encourages people who are ready to quit, or are thinking about quitting, to seek assistance and advice by calling the Texas Quitline at 1-877-YES QUIT or visiting www.yesquit.org. Quitline services are available in English and Spanish. Callers to the Quitline, which uses the American Cancer Society’s Quit for Life Program, receive free, confidential counseling services and personalized tools and strategies from trained professionals to help them quit. The www.yesquit.org website has tips, success stories, motivational videos and an online community of people dedicated to quitting and encouraging others to stick to it. People can create an online quitting plan that helps them take steps toward a tobacco-free life. The Texas Quitline was first offered in 2001 and serves about 10,000 people a year. The U.S. Public Health Service’s clinical practice guidelines say that Quitline counseling can more than double a smoker’s chances of quitting. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable and premature death in the United States. Additional Facts: • More than 24,000 Texans die from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke each year. • In the United States, nearly 1 in 5 deaths is attributed tobacco use. • Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for men and women, and 90 percent of lung cancer cases are attributed to smoking. (News Media Contact: Chris Van Deusen, DSHS Press Officer, 512-776-7753)