By Raya Tahan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
"Quitting is easier with help!" So say the counselors at the Arizona Smokers Helpline.
UA Health Sciences Center has developed the 800 telephone number, available free for people calling from anywhere in the state. The counselors are staffed by the Arizona Program for Nicotine and Tobacco Research, said Scott Moldenhauer, Project Coordinator.
"Cigarettes will kill more people in this country this year than alcohol, cocaine, crack, car accidents, homicides, and AIDS combined," said Moldenhauer. He also said more Americans will die from tobacco use this year than the number of Americans who died in the Vietnam War, Korean War and World War II all together.
He said his goal is to help as many people as possible quit smoking.
The helpline provides three types of services. During one on one counseling, a counselor will make a plan specific to the individual seeking help. A target date is established, and information and suggestions are given.
Self-help materials and quit kits are available for those who would like to quit on their own. The helpline staff can also refer a caller to the closest quitting program in his or her area.
Assistance is available for smokers and smokeless tobacco users. The counselors can also help those who have already quit stay on track.
Moldenhauer said advantages to the helpline are that it is free and people do not have to spend time, energy or money transporting themselves to the clinic. They can call from home.
Tami Naranjo, an undeclared graduate student, is a former smoker and a helpline counselor.
"I'm hoping to stay here for a while," she said, "it's really exciting and a good feeling."
Naranjo said she especially enjoyed helping a 37-year-old mother who had other health problems to quit smoking. This woman needed a kidney transplant, but the UMC doctor would not see her about it until she stopped smoking.
The helpline opened on July 17. Six hundred calls have been received, and a majority of those have been successful in quitting, said Naranjo.
Moldenhauer said he would like the helpline to be used by everyone, and to target special populations such as pregnant women, adolescents, and Hispanics.
Starting in mid-September, counseling will be available in Spanish as well as English.
In Tucson, the number to call is 621-5382. From anywhere else in Arizona, the number is 1-800-556-6222.
The helpline is available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Outside of those hours, callers can leave a message.
The line is funded by the Arizona Program for Nicotine and Tobacco Research. Moldenhauer said he is hoping to get a government grant from the Proposition 200 tobacco tax, which raised the price of cigarettes.
Moldenhauer said the program was started here after telephone counseling for smokers and smokeless tobacco users was developed at the University of California San Diego Cancer Center. There, it doubled the success rate of those who wanted to quit.