WV PRC & T²R² assist with personal and county wide smoking cessation

This article originally appeared on Page 4 of the April 2008 edition of The Center.

West Virginia Prevention Research Center (WV PRC) and Translational Tobacco Reduction Research Program (T²R²) have partnered with Mon County Tobacco Prevention Partnership and Smoke Free Mon County in support of a proposed regulation that bans indoor smoking in public places in Monongalia County.

Members of T²R² and WV PRC have promoted clean indoor air by helping host a health fair booth, speaking both informally and formally at Board of Health meetings, providing Board members with information regarding the hazards of secondhand smoke, distributing postcards soliciting support for the proposed regulation and penning letters to the editor to publicize the importance of smoke free air.

The WV PRC is one of 33 funded by the Centers for Disease Control and PRevention. Housed in universities across the country, PRCs share a focus on public health in community settings. It works in partnership with the WVU Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center to provide T²R².

Valery Frey-McClung, assistant director of T²R², said the program offers three tobacco cessation and support programs to help smokers kick the habit.

The Quit Tobacco Workshop is a one-time, three-hour session conducted by trained smoking cessation facilitators. The workshop is free and open to everyone in the community. Lunch is provided. The next workshop will be held from 10:30 am - 1:30 pm on May 19 in Room 3301 Health Sciences South.

Freedom from Smoking is the American Lung Association's eight-week cessation program, which includes eight one-hour group sessions that teach a quitting approach through positive behavior change. The program is free to all WVU, WVUH and UHA faculty, staff and students. Registration is required. Contact Kathie Friend at 293-1699 or kfriend@hsc.wvu.edu if you are interested in either of these cessation programs.

A support group meets every Monday from noon to 1 pm in Room 1156 HSC South. The group provides support for former smokers and those who want to quit. RSVP with Friend (see above).

Frey-McClung said the staff members with T²R² who facilitate the programs understand that quitting smoking is "hard and often takes multiple attempts." T²R² staff members are there to help quitters along the path to being smoke free.