Wellington- Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) Public Health is looking for candidates who need help to quit smoking, but find the cost of nicotine replacement therapy prohibitive.
Participants are needed to take part in the STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) program. Approved applicants may qualify for free nicotine patches.
“The STOP program provides five weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy to help ease withdrawal symptoms for someone trying to quit smoking,” said WDG public health nurse Dora Eaglesham. “But participants will also receive support to help them make broader changes that can improve their health even more.”
The program is run by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as part of the smoke-free Ontario strategy.
Introduced in 2005 through a partnership between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport, the program has already provided nicotine replacement therapy such as nicotine gum and patches, as well as bupropion and varenicline, free of charge, in addition to counseling support to an unprecedented 68,000 people from across Ontario.
While smoking rates in Ontario have declined over the past 20 years, 1.6 million Ontarians continue to smoke and 16,000 die each year from the effects of commercial tobacco products.
Therefore, provision of smoking cessation support to smokers in Ontario is strongly indicated.
Baseline questionnaires and follow-up surveys, spaced over six months post treatment will help the STOP program researchers learn more about the long-term impact of providing nicotine replacement therapy and other smoking cessation aid free of charge to smokers Ontario-wide. To date, results for STOP participants have shown an improvement of at least two times the typical quit rates.
The number of participants is limited and you must be able to attend an information session scheduled on Nov. 29 in Guelph from noon to 3pm or in Orangeville from 6 to 9pm.
To qualify for the free program and to register for a session, call WDG Public Health at 1-800-265-7293 extension 4622 or send an email with your name and phone number to info@wdgpublichealth.ca.
