Free medications to help Nevadans quit smoking

Carson City — Smokers in Nevada can get free medications to help them quit.

Medications made available by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health include gum and/or patches, lozenges, inhaler, and/or nasal spray. Supplies may be limited. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Tips From Former Smokers national tobacco education campaign is encouraging smokers to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669) for free help getting medication and quit assistance counseling. In order to take advantage of the free offer, tobacco users must enroll in the Nevada Tobacco Quitline with a trained coach and be medically eligible to receive the free medication.

People who smoke cigarettes can and do quit. In fact, today there are more former smokers than current smokers in the United States. Surveys show about 70 percent of all cigarette smokers want to quit, and research shows quitting completely at any age has health benefits.

Stopping smoking

Lowers your risk for lung cancer and many other types of cancer.

Reduces your risk for heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease (narrowing of the blood vessels outside your heart).

Reduces your heart disease risk almost immediately.

Reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

Reduces risk of developing lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Reduces risk for infertility in women of childbearing age. Women who stop smoking during pregnancy also reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby.

Quitline counseling and medication, including gum, patches, lozenges, inhaler, and/or nasal spray are all effective in helping smokers quit, and using them together is more effective than using either method alone. Medications help smokers quit by decreasing urges to smoke and other withdrawal symptoms while quitting.

The most recent data shows approximately 18 percent of Nevada adults smoke. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Smoking kills 480,000 Americans each year, and is responsible for diseases affecting another 16 million Americans.

Additional information on quitting is available at https://nevada.quitlogix.org or cdc.gov/tips.