Finding the Courage To Quit®

Lynn Andrews had her first cigarette at age 13, and she would continue smoking every day for the next 54 years. By the time Andrews was in her sixties, she coughed frequently, found it hard to breathe while climbing stairs, and constantly experienced compounding pain in her legs from her rheumatoid arthritis.

Andrews decided she’d had enough. She knew her smoking habit aggravated her health problems, so she researched the chemicals in cigarettes. “I realized; I’m killing myself. Like suicide. I got mad and said, ‘I’m not going to smoke anymore.’ I didn’t even want cigarettes anymore. They didn’t even taste good. But I kept smoking,” Andrews said. Her sister told her about RHA’s Courage to Quit® smoking cessation program. Andrews enrolled in 2021, at age 67.

Quitting was not easy. Andrews relied on cigarettes for stress relief. Almost everyone around her smoked, so she was always tempted to join. But on Jan. 6, 2022, Andrews had her final cigarette. “I wouldn’t have made it without the program,” said Andrews.

She particularly enjoyed learning the psychology behind smoking. “I learned that smoking itself causes stress – running out of cigarettes, where to buy cigarettes, craving a cigarette when you can’t have one,” Andrews said. “Smoking was a crutch which precluded me from learning healthy and useful coping skills. In Courage to Quit, I learned about triggers and how to identify them and what to do about them.”

Since its inception in 2016, more than 900 people have enrolled in Courage to Quit. The program has doubled in size since meetings went virtual during the pandemic and is expected to continue growing. Most program participants join at no cost through insurance or local behavioral health clinics. (See here for a list of programs in your area).

Participants who successfully quit smoking through Courage to Quit often stay involved in the classes to fortify their new habits and help others in their smoke-free journey. Andrews says that since she quit smoking, her leg pain from rheumatoid arthritis is gone and her breathing is much better.

Big Tobacco continues to threaten communities nationwide. The FDA reports that there are more than 18.5 million menthol cigarette smokers in the U.S., with high rates among youth, young adults, and minority racial and ethnic groups. While cigarette smoking rates of traditional cigarettes in Chicago are at a historic low, “the most recent data show that in the past 5 years, vaping among Chicago’s school-aged children increased by 56%,” said RHA President and CEO Joel Africk. RHA is currently working to add e-cigarettes to the ‘Smoke-free Illinois Act’, restrict the sales of flavored tobacco products marketed to youth, and increase programming to protect our youth from the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes.

Courage to Quit smoking cessation program is an initiative of Respiratory Health Association and created in collaboration with Andrea King, PhD, of the UChicago Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience. The flexible, join-anytime, attend-when-you-can, virtual treatment program combines counseling, education, and support with evidence-based nicotine replacement medications to help ease tobacco withdrawal. Please visit our website to find a Courage to Quit program near you.

 

BUILDING A HEALTHY FUTURE TOGETHER

Your support made it possible for us to have an impact in communities throughout Illinois and beyond this past year. Together we faced new challenges, found new solutions, and made progress toward a future free of lung disease. As we come to the end of our program year, we want to share some of our work to prevent lung disease, promote clean air, and help people with lung disease live better lives.

ASTHMA
In partnership with the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA), we developed a new tool for childcare providers across the state to help children under their care living with asthma. Since its release, more than 2,500 people have viewed the English or Spanish versions.

ENVIRONMENT
After three years of advocacy and leadership with many partner organizations, we helped secure the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) – a nation-leading equitable climate law. CEJA sets Illinois on the path to 100% clean energy by 2050, and we continue to lead implementation of these efforts – particularly working with lawmakers to accelerate transportation electrification across the state.

AIR POLLUTION
On the heels of a new report identifying serious health risks from diesel pollution in Illinois, we are leading a coalition to secure passage of Advanced Clean Truck rules. This effort, made possible by a grant from the Energy Foundation, would lead to the electrification of heavy-duty trucks – reducing current threats of diesel emissions.

LUNG CANCER
To improve access to lung cancer screenings
for high-risk populations in Illinois, we coordinated with healthcare partners to identify barriers to these screenings. Together, we were able to successfully advocate for $1 million in funding in Illinois to help people learn about and use these services. Expanding access to these preventative services will help identify lung cancer in people most at risk, saving lives along the way.

COVID-19
Thanks to a grant from Will Rogers Institute, we are launching a new project
to develop patient-facing resources about the potential impacts of long COVID. As emerging research continues to document the lasting effects of long COVID, we will be on the front lines of raising awareness about these new challenges and helping people most vulnerable manage their health.

COPD
Caring for a family member or friend living with COPD can be hard. An estimated 16 million people live with COPD and millions more have symptoms but
are not yet diagnosed. This highlights a growing need to support caregivers in the COPD community. In partnership with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Learn More ® Breathe Better™Program, we created an online version of our COPD Caregiver’s Toolkit. Now, informal caregivers across the country can more easily access resources to help navigate the challenges of providing care to their loved ones.

WOMEN’S LUNG HEALTH
One in 6 women lives with lung disease. With remarkable growth of our Catch Your Breath® women’s lung health initiative, we continue to raise awareness about the special risks lung disease poses for women. This year we were able to again partner with CHEST Foundation to fund promising research studying disparities in women’s lung health.

TOBACCO
In partnership with the Illinois Health Practice Alliance, a behavioral health services group with more than 100 clinics serving Medicaid patients in Illinois, we are expanding access to our smoking cessation programs. We trained providers in these clinics on our Counsel to Quit® and Courage to Quit® programs, which they will deliver to people who smoke at some of the highest rates.

RESEARCH
We awarded grants to fund new research into lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and COPD. One of the lung cancer studies from Dr. Maria Lucia Madariagais looking at new techniques to study lung tissue, with the goal of better targeting and improving cancer treatments. Our annual Solovy Award for Advancement in COPD was awarded to support Dr. Laura Feemster’s COPD research efforts at University of Washington.

 

To learn more about the educational programs, research, and policy work your contributions support, as well as to receive updates on our work toward healthy lungs and clean air for all, sign-up for our monthly newsletter.

If you’d like to support RHA’s work to prevent lung disease, promote clean air, and help people living with lung disease, you can donate here.

Skokie Flavored Vaping Product Ban Falls Short

For Immediate Release

September 24, 2021

Contact: Erica Krutsch

ekrutsch@resphealth.org

Respiratory Health Association Statement on Skokie’s Ban of Certain Flavored Vaping Products

Skokie, IL – This week the village of Skokie passed an ordinance banning the sale of certain flavored vaping products within village limits. The ordinance is part of a local effort to curb tobacco use by teens, as recent surveys have shown that over 80 percent of e-cigarette users between ages 12 to 17 report flavoring as a primary reason for using a tobacco product.

Notably, the new law does not restrict the sale of menthol flavorings.

In response to the ordinance, Respiratory Health Association issued the following statement:

“Respiratory Health Association applauds the village of Skokie for taking steps to limit access to some flavored vaping products that disproportionately drive teen tobacco use today. Nicotine is an addictive, dangerous drug that harms brain development and poses other significant health risks. We only wish the ordinance had followed the science and banned menthol flavoring— one of the preferred flavors among the teens Skokie is trying to protect. In fact, research suggests that banning some flavors while still allowing menthol flavoring will simply lead to young people switching to menthol products.

The vaping industry’s illegal marketing to children has been well documented, and one of the industry’s largest players, JUUL, has been sued by the FDA for making illegal claims about the safety of their products. Additionally, no level of chemical aerosol inhalation is good for the lungs, and other long-term health impacts of these products are completely unknown.

The soothing sensation of menthol-flavored tobacco makes it easier to inhale and potentially harder to quit.  Because menthol products feel less harsh, they have greater appeal to new smokers and young people.[i]

We hope the village of Skokie will continue to develop additional measures that deter youth nicotine use, improve health equity, and protect vulnerable communities.”

[i] https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/tobacco_industry/menthol-cigarettes/index.html

New RHA Quit Smoking Resources Available

Do you work with clients or patients who smoke? Are you interested in providing resources to individuals who are thinking about quitting? Respiratory Health Association has developed new print materials to assist and motivate individuals throughout their quit smoking journey. They are appropriate for distribution in a variety of health and community settings and include a self-help guide, a poster identifying the benefits of quitting smoking and other resources. To learn more, visit our Quit Smoking Resources or contact Lesli Vaughan by email at lvaughan@resphealth.org or by phone at (312) 628-0208.