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Smokers turn out for ways to quit Great American Smoke Out hands out samples of nicotine substitutes along with advice on breaking the habit's grip By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Hope springs eternal among smokers who want to quit. Naomi Moran has tried to quit lots of times. Steven Gipe has, too. Ditto for Tammie Snavely. They all came to the Rogue Valley Mall Thursday looking for that little something extra that will help them finally quit for the last time. Tobacco counselors from the Great American Smoke Out were on hand to share tips about ways to curb the urge. They also handed out sample nicotine patches and nicotine lollipops to give smokers the familiar hand-to-mouth ritual and a bit of nicotine minus the unhealthy smoke. Help lines Oregon maintains telephone help lines for smokers who want to quit. English speakers can call 877-270-7867. Spanish speakers can find help at 877-266-3863. The Smoke Out was sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Tobacco Free Jackson County, and Prescription Compounding Solutions, a Medford pharmacy that sells nicotine lollipops. Everybody who dropped by seemed to have quit more than once. Snavely, a 30-year smoker, even had herself hypnotized once. "It didn't take," she said. "There's something about having that cigarette in your hand, taking it to your mouth, and inhaling and exhaling," said Cassie Brammell of Central Point. "That's the main part of the addiction. You feel like you're getting something." Breaking those physical and mental habits associated with smoking can be as hard as weaning the body of its chemical dependence on nicotine, said Kaaren Borsting, a volunteer for Tobacco Free Jackson County. She noted that smokers often light up when their stress level rises. "It's like a nervous tic," she said. "It's helpful to find something else you can do to substitute for the addiction." Some smokers will have more motivation to quit soon. Oregon's new smoke-free workplace law takes effect Jan. 1. The law requires most workplaces to be smoke free except bars, restaurants and bowling alleys. Nicotine lollipops have shown promise for helping people quit because they feed the smokers' need for a hand-to-mouth ritual, said Patty Crumrine, a pharmacy technician at Prescription Compounding Solutions. Available in six flavors, the lollipops can be made with varying amounts of nicotine, allowing smokers to gradually reduce the amount they consume. "Each lollipop has about three to five smokes in it," Crumrine said. "People use it until they have their fix, then put it in a baggie and take it out again later." The lollipops cost about $2 each, but a month's supply probably doesn't cost much more than the cigarettes that a smoker would consume, said Brammell, who started her latest attempt to quit Wednesday. "You can spend $100 a month on cigarettes easy," she said. "A lot of people think you can taste the nicotine (in the lollipop), but you can't. You do get a sensation in your mouth - a tingling sensation." Tom Sutton had an especially good reason to look for some help to give up the pipe he started smoking 40 years ago when he quit cigarettes. His doctor recently told him he has emphysema. "I got a patch and a lollipop, and I'm gonna make a big effort," the 85-year-old Medford resident said. "It's kind of late in the game, but I'm gonna try to make the most of the time I've got." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.