NCPHD Offering Free Tobacco Cessation Classes and Free nicotine patches, gum and lozenges
Free tobacco cessation classes -- and free nicotine patches, gum or lozenges for those taking the classes -- are now offered to the public by North Central Public Health District and the Hood River County Prevention Department.
“We’re excited to be able to help people on the important journey to finally break free from tobacco,” said Shellie Campbell, Director of NCPHD. “We want to give people the tools to succeed, knowing that it will mean a healthier lifestyle, a cleaner environment -- and more money in their pocket!”
Jane Palmer, a Tobacco Treatment Specialist, is a contractor with Hood River County Prevention Department. NCPHD has partnered with Hood River County Prevention to have Palmer provide regional tobacco cessation services.
Palmer, a retired public health nurse, completed the Tobacco Treatment Specialist program at the University of Colorado. She has decades of experience in public health prevention. She is also working on a national tobacco cessation certification.
“Any time is a good time to kick the nicotine habit,” Palmer said. “Developing your own plan is important for a healthy future.” She noted that quit success increases over 25% when people use a combination of both counseling and nicotine replacements such as patches, gum or lozenges.
For those in Wasco and Sherman counties, to sign up for the free cessation classes along with free nicotine replacement therapy, you can call 541-506-2609, email neitac@ncphd.org, or visit https://www.ncphd.org/tobacco-programs. You can also get there quickly by clicking the QR code above.
Those in Hood River County can click on the QR code below to sign up.
Palmer is a former smoker herself, and understands it can have enjoyable aspects that make quitting hard. “You have to hate it more than you love it” in order to reach a point when you’re ready to quit, she said.
Social workers and counselors at local agencies are also encouraged to help their clients sign up for the program. The cessation classes will be offered both online and in person, and in group or individual sessions. To get the nicotine replacement therapy, clients – or their caseworkers -- can go to NCPHD at 419 E. 7th St. in The Dalles, or to Hood River County Health Department, 1109 June St. in Hood River.
The cessation classes are funded by revenue from Ballot Measure 108, which raised the tobacco tax on cigarettes by $2 per pack and took effect in 2022.
In Wasco and Sherman counties, 14.8% of adults smoke, and over 44 percent of them tried to quit in the previous year. It can take several tries to quit, but each attempt is a success in its own right because people learn something useful each time.
For more information, please contact North Central Public Health District at (541) 506-2600, visit us on the web at www.ncphd.org or find us on Facebook.)