A top strategy of Healthy Louisville 2020 is to increase physician
and health provider referrals to effective smoking cessation programs. One such program is the Cooper/Clayton Method to Stop
Smoking. Developed by two University of Kentucky professors, the
science-based model uses education, group support and nicotine
replacement therapy. Nicotine patches, lozenges and gum help
patients overcome their physical addiction to nicotine, weaning
them with step-down reductions in dosage over the 13-week course.
The program also provides weekly group support sessions led by
trained facilitators, many former smokers themselves, to deal with
the psychological issues often associated with smoking cessation.
The Cooper/Clayton method boasts a 42 percent success rate
upon completion of the 13-week course. This compares to a 5
percent success rate among those trying to quit with no nicotine
replacement or group support and a 9 percent success rate among
those using nicotine replacement alone. The Department of Public
Health and Wellness and its community partners sponsor Cooper/
Clayton smoking cessation classes throughout the community. For
a list of classes, visit www.louisvilleky.gov/. Your patients may also
enroll in a class or get more information by calling 574-STOP (7867).
Another smoking cessation program locally available is the Kentucky Quit Line. By calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669),
your patients can get free one-on-one help from smoking cessation
coaches. An on-line version of the Kentucky Quit Line is also
available at QuitNowKentucky.org. The on-line version also has a
section for physician referrals.
Healthy Louisville 2020 also recommends increasing smoking
cessation services for expectant parents. Smoking during pregnancy is especially dangerous. It can cause birth defects, low birth
weight and premature delivery. The 2014 Surgeon General’s Report
now adds ectopic pregnancy, in which the embryo implants in the
Fallopian tube or elsewhere outside the uterus, to the list of birth
defects caused by maternal smoking during pregnancy. Ectopic
pregnancy is very rarely a survivable condition for the fetus and is
a potentially fatal condition for the mother. The 2014 report also
finds that maternal smoking during early pregnancy can cause
orofacial clefts in infants. After delivery, smoking in the home
continues to be a major cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS). Smoking cessation efforts, therefore, should focus on both
parents and everyone else living in the home.
QuitNowKentucky.org has a pregnancy and postpartum program.
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness
is also using the Smoking Cessation and Reduction in Pregnancy
Treatment (SCRIPTS) Program in its Healthy Start home visitation
case management program. The program provides comprehensive
counseling to help pregnant woman quit or greatly curtail smoking
during pregnancy and helps them establish a smoke-free home for
the new baby.
YOUTH SMOKING
The 2014 Surgeon General’s Report asserts that more than 3.5 million
middle and high school students in America smoke cigarettes. The
vast majority (88 percent) of new smokers
start smoking before age 18 and nearly all
first use of cigarettes occurs before age 26.
Policies to curtail the initiation of smoking among young people can significantly
reduce tobacco’s toll on life and health in
America in future years. Here in Louisville our young people are also taking up
the tobacco habit in alarming numbers.
During the 2011 – 2012 school years,
14.8 percent of Jefferson County Public
Schools reported smoking within the past
30 days. Healthy Louisville 2020 advocates
raising the state cigarette tax, which has proven to decrease smoking
initiation among teens and pregnant women. Healthy Louisville
2020 also recommends reducing tobacco advertising, particularly
in close proximity to schools and strengthening enforcement of
existing laws prohibiting selling tobacco to minors.
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