YOU CAN QUIT USING TOBACCO!
When you're ready to quit, the State Health Benefit Program has many resources and benefits to improve your chances of succeeding. All members are encouraged to consult with their health care provider about what type of tobacco cessation medication and counseling works best for them. Participation in a counseling program, especially in combination with medication, is strongly recommended. We know quitting tobacco isn't easy, but let today be the first day of your tobacco-free life and reach out for assistance. It's never been easier to try!
Those eligible for the Health Reimbursement Arrangement by completing their annual Health Assessment Tool as well as those who have a Flexible Spending Account can use this toward tobacco medication copays!
Click HERE for an overview of the State Tobacco Cessation Coverage.
Quitting tobacco is the most important thing you can do for your health and the health of those around you!
Click HERE to read the latest report from the U.S. Surgeon General "How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease and What it Means to You".
Fact: Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States.
Smoking is the most common form of tobacco use. Smoking delivers a strong dose of nicotine to the user, along with an additional 4,000 chemical substances, including Acetone (found in nail polish remover), Ammonia (floor/toilet cleaner), Arsenic (poison), Cadmium (rechargeable batteries), Carbon monoxide (car exhaust fumes), DDT/dieldrin (insecticides), Hydrogen cyanide (gas chamber poison), Formaldehyde (preserver of body tissues and fabric), and Nitrobenzene (gasoline additive). These chemicals and gases carry small matter that condenses in the lungs to form a thick, brownish sludge called tar. Tar contains various carcinogenic (cancer-causing) agents. In healthy lungs, millions of tiny hair-like tissues called cilia sweep away foreign matter, to be expelled from the lungs by coughing. Nicotine impairs the cleansing function of the cilia by paralyzing them for up to one hour following the smoking of a single cigarette. This allows tars and other solids in tobacco smoke to accumulate and irritate sensitive lung tissue. Nicotine stimulation also includes increased heart and respiratory rate, constricted blood vessels, and subsequent increased blood pressure because the heart muscle must work harder to pump blood through narrowed vessels.
Fact: Secondhand smoke actually contains more cancer-causing substances than the smoke that a smoker inhales.
The following resources will instruct you on how to develop a plan of action for tobacco cessation, guide you along the process, and provide the necessary support while doing it:
- NH DHHS Tobacco Prevention and Control Program
- NH Tobacco Helpline (Call Toll Free for confidential quit counseling) 1-800-QUIT-NOW TryToStopNH.org
- The State of New Hampshire Employee Assistance Program offers the American Lung Association "Freedom from Smoking" Program. Call 800-852-3345 ext 4336
- Better Health Better Breathing Coaching Session - Based on 7 key principles, Better Breathing crafts a quit plan that plays to your strengths to help get you past old road blocks. To get started, log on to www.Anthem.com and click on the far right purple Health & Wellness Tab. Click on the Better Health Banner, read and accept the Welcome Letter and select the Better Breathing Coaching Session among the coaching programs available. If you have already taken the Better Health Assessment Tool (HAT), then much of the coaching program assessment will have been completed for you.