As part of our comprehensive approach to prevention and early detection, Northside Hospital Cancer Institute offers various smoking and tobacco resources to provide education and help individuals quit smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, water
pipes and using other forms of smokeless tobacco including chewing tobacco and dissolvable tobacco.
Tobacco contains nicotine, which can cause addiction and significant health problems such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, gum disease and respiratory and mouth infections. Out of the more than 7,000 different chemicals found in tobacco and tobacco smoke,
hundreds are toxic and more than 70 are known to cause cancer. No tobacco product is safe! Now is the best time to quit!
Northside Hospital Cancer Institute offers:
- Community and school educational presentations.
- Referrals to the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking® online curriculum.
- Built To Quit - Smoking and Tobacco Cessation Course
Our Built To Quit course offers the American Lung Association Freedom From Smoking® program and access to the following resources:
- Certified Facilitators – Classes are led by American Lung Association Freedom From Smoking® program certified facilitators.
- Group Classes – In-person class meets once a week for six weeks on the Northside Hospital campuses.
- Remote Classes – Six-week webinar class facilitated by Northside staff are also available.
- Telephone Counseling – Referrals to the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line (877-270-STOP).
- Pharmaceutical Assistance – Free or reduced-cost nicotine replacement therapy (gum or patches) for those that qualify.
- Online Support – Referrals to American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking® online curriculum.
- Mobile App (for Android and iPhone devices) - quitSTART, a product of Smokefree.gov.
Our six-week cessation classes educate you about the benefits of quitting and the strategies and skills to cope with your urges and the hazards of smoking and using other forms of tobacco, such as:
Vaping
- There are no clinical studies on the long-term use, but there is evidence that it be just as harmful as cigarettes.
- The product still needs approval of the FDA as a smoking cessation device, in fact it has been refused many times by the FDA for lack of scientific evidence.
- Vaping may worsen a user’s nicotine habit, since it contains nicotine.
- Ingredients in an e-cigarette/vape have been known to cause gastrointestinal irritation and even brain damage.
- Users report cotton mouth, scratchy throat and coughing.
- Vaping raises heart rate and blood pressure.
- Nanoparticles from the vapor might be embedded in the lungs causing inflammation and raising infection risk.
- E-liquid contains aerosol, which is not just water vapor. It can contain nicotine, carcinogens and traces of metal and other chemicals.
(Sources: Termlifeinsurance.org, yahoo!Health, California Smokers Helpline)
Cigarettes
- Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths.
- More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States.
- Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths.
- Cigarette smoking increases the risk of death from all causes in men and women.
- Smoking affects the health of your teeth and gums and can cause tooth loss.
- Smoking can increase your risk for cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens that makes it hard for you to see).
- Smoking is a cause of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Causes 1300 deaths every day.
- Contains nicotine and tar.
(Source: CDC)
Imported Cigarettes
- Smoke from an imported cigarette contains three to five times the amount of nicotine as a regular cigarette and places users at risk for nicotine addiction.
- Increases the risk for oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and esophageal cancer
- Is associated with a more than threefold increased risk for coronary heart disease and acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).
- Is associated with emphysema and a nearly fourfold increased risk for chronic bronchitis.
- Is associated with an increased risk for acute lung injury (i.e., lung damage that can include a range of characteristics, such as decreased oxygen, fluid in the lungs, leakage from capillaries, and inflammation), especially among susceptible individuals with asthma or respiratory infections.
- Imported cigarette smokers have 13 to 20 times the risk for abnormal lung function (e.g., airflow obstruction or reduced oxygen absorption) compared with nonsmokers.
The classes meet once a week and are conducted primarily in a group setting, with face-to-face interaction which allows you to learn from each other’s experiences. For your convenience, we also offer web-based remote class options.
An American Lung Association Freedom From Smoking® Program certified facilitator leads each class and behavioral health specialists, respiratory therapists and dietitians visit the group to help provide you with support and guidance along the way.
You will receive nicotine replacement therapy (if qualified) and a workbook with a meditation CD. Lunch or dinner is also provided.
Classes are held on the Northside Hospital Atlanta, Cherokee, and Forsyth campuses. Both afternoon and evening class times are offered. For specific class times or for more information please call 404-780-7653 or email smokingcessation@northside.com.
For more information on our Built To Quit class dates:
