Smoking Cessation Resources Fact Sheet

July 2004

An estimated 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking. Smoking is responsible for an estimated one in five U.S. deaths and costs the U.S. over $150 billion each year in health care costs and lost productivity. The American Lung Association Smoking or Health programs respond to the Surgeon General's challenge for a smoke-free society by the year 2000. They target individuals, their friends, relatives and co-workers with smoking prevention, education, and cessation programs, activities, materials, and messages.

• Facts About How You Can Stop Smoking For Good (ALA Item #0485C)--This brochure provides guidance for people who would like to quit smoking. The tone of the brochure is upbeat and supportive, and provides creative tips on how to quit smoking and remain smoke-free. The brochure begins with how to prepare for quitting, and stresses the importance of making the decision and sticking with it. It lists the various benefits of being smoke-free, including the health benefits as well as general improvements in one’s quality of life. The brochure reviews coping strategies for the process of quitting and how to prepare loved ones and family members for it. A short quiz helps determine one’s level of addiction to cigarettes and whether to use nicotine replacement. The brochure reviews nicotine replacement products and how they may be used, as well as how to remain smoke-free, and closes with a review of Freedom From Smoking® resources.
  
  
• Facts About Secondhand Smoke (ALA Item #0006C)--This recently updated, four-fold brochure answers general questions about why tobacco smoke is dangerous even for those who do not smoke. Although smoking is less acceptable today, it is still dangerously prevalent. The brochure cites an EPA landmark report (1993) on the dangers of secondhand smoke, and explains why children in particular are at special risk. It discusses bans on smoking in public places and advocates a completely smoke-free environment. The brochure encourages people to do more than simply separate smoking and non-smoking areas, because secondhand smoke may infiltrate entire environments and thus affect people outside the immediate proximity. Also included in Freedom From Smoking® Clinic Kit (Item #4231).
  
  
• Facts About Smoking and Pregnancy (ALA Item #0176C)--This brochure is for women who smoke and want to quit, either before they get pregnant or if they already are pregnant. There is a long section dedicated to how smoking affects the fetus, including how babies born to women who smoke typically have low birth weight, and how smoking increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The brochure also focuses on how to quit smoking and remain smoke-free, and lists information on smoking cessation programs, such as Freedom From Smoking®, that provide assistance for people who want to quit.
  
  
• Facts About Tobacco Use (ALA Item #0173C)--This basic introduction to the issues of tobacco use is useful for a wide range of audiences, from smokers and their families to policy-makers. This brochure includes sections on the health effects of tobacco (including smokeless tobacco); nicotine addiction; addiction in youth; “safe” tobacco; quitting smoking; nicotine replacement therapy; and helping a friend quit. It refers people who are interested in quitting to our cessation programs, including Freedom From Smoking® Online. Also included in Freedom From Smoking® Clinic Kit (Item #4231). 
  
  
• Freedom From Smoking® For You and Your Baby English Version (ALA Item #0056)--This multi-color handbook for pregnant women uses concise, low literacy language with bullet points and concise statements. It poses critical questions such as Why do you want to quit smoking? Why do you smoke? and When do you smoke? to help the reader better understand her habit. It reviews the risks associated with smoking, with a focus on pregnant women and the effects of smoking on the fetus. It also educates the reader on how to quit smoking, and outlines a very feasible process for doing so, including how to avoid relapse. The end of the booklet presents an empty frame in which the mother can insert a photo of her baby as a reminder to maintain her smoke-free status. Also available in Spanish.
  
  
• Freedom From Smoking® Handout Book Spanish Version (ALA Item #4232H)--
  Spanish language edition of Item #4231H
  
  
• Freedom From Smoking® Handout Book (ALA Item #4231H)--This 70-page Freedom From Smoking® (FFS) handbook is a comprehensive tool for people enrolled in the Freedom From Smoking® program. It may also be useful for people who are not enrolled in the class and who need a guide to help them in the quitting process. There are seven sessions in the FFS program and each of these is covered in the handbook. Each section includes interactive techniques that range from questionnaires to “pack track” forms to a scorecard (to record the number of smoke-free days). The program is appropriate for anyone who smokes, especially those who are not sure they are ready to quit. Also included in Freedom From Smoking® Clinic Kit (Item #4231). Available in Spanish (Item #4232H). Note: Spanish Edition is not available in Freedom From Smoking® Clinic Kit (Item #4231 or Item # 4231-CD).
  
  
• Freedom From Smoking® Promotional Brochure (ALA Item #0480C)--
  This redesigned colorful brochure describes the Freedom From Smoking® clinic program, including how the program helps people to determine whether they are ready to quit, and to assess what triggers their urge to smoke. It explains the course of the program (which includes eight group sessions lead by an expert in smoking cessation) and the philosophy behind its curriculum. It lists the different elements of the Freedom From Smoking® clinic program in an easy to read chart, with major headings and bullet points of detailed subject areas. It also presents quotes from people who have successfully completed the program.
  
  
• Freedom From Smoking® Self Help Manual (ALA Item #0055)-- This 46-page guide was developed by pulmonary physicians and American Lung Association staff to help people quit smoking. It is organized according to the various steps involved in the quitting process, from “Starting Out” to “Becoming a Non-smoker.” Each chapter contains short summaries of critical points, color photos, and interactive elements, such as checklists and quizzes. It also features a tear-out “Quitting Smoking Calendar” and “Pack Tracks,” which are small cards that help the soon-to-be ex-smoker track his or her smoking habit, and therefore, better understand how to avoid situations that could lead to relapse. At the end of the guide, there is a
  “Certificate of Nonsmoker” to help celebrate the accomplishment.
  
  
• Freedom From Smoking® Cessation Clinics--This eight-session group program uses a positive behavior-change approach that teaches the smoker how to quit. It focuses on developing a quitting strategy, understanding nicotine addiction and the use of nicotine replacement products, dealing with recovery symptoms, controlling weight, and managing stress through relaxation, as well as assertiveness techniques and a variety of relapse prevention strategies for staying off cigarettes. An FFS® "Basic" Clinic adapted for low-literacy populations is also available.
  
  

• How to Help a Friend Quit Smoking (ALA Item#1254C)--This five-fold brochure is for people who want to help their friends and loved ones quit smoking. The brochure begins by highlighting the importance of having friends and family help in the process of smoking cessation. It covers such topics as how to start the process of quitting, how to provide moral support to a person who is trying to quit (such as maintaining consistency and not being preachy), and how to establish a reward system and provide positive reinforcement. It also advises on how to help someone maintain weight and smoke-free status after quitting. Other topics include withdrawal symptoms, how a smoker can help another smoker quit, what to do if your friend starts smoking again, and how a non-smoker can help a smoker to quit. Also included in Freedom From Smoking® Clinic Kit (Item #4231).

• No Smoking Lungs at Work (ALA Item#0840C)--This handbook for children uses an interactive approach to teach kids about the effects of smoking on their health. It poses questions and provides blank spaces for children to answer, reinforcing each lesson. Lively cartoon-like drawings appear throughout which depict the messages in the text. It teaches children about the basic structure of the lungs, the importance of oxygen to life, and what happens when someone smokes a cigarette.

• Not On Tobacco N-O-T Curriculum (ALA Item #0008)--The N-O-T Curriculum is presented in a large binder, with a comprehensive collection of resources for implementing the N-O-T program. The binder opens with an explanation of the program and its history, general information on the problem of adolescent smoking, and how and why the American Lung Association developed the program. It explains the philosophy of the program and its carefully developed strategies. In addition, the binder includes several informational chapters, including: An Overview of N-O-T; Roles and Responsibilities; Finding Additional Help for Teens; Selection and Training of Facilitators; Tips on Group Process and Implementation; Using the N-O-T Curriculum; and Evaluating the N-O-T program. It also contains chapters for all ten sessions as well as four additional “booster” sessions. Further, the binder includes chapters on Marketing N-O-T; General Resources on Teen Smoking; and Program Evaluation Resources.

• Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Secondhand Smoke Spanish (ALA Item#1453C)--This is a Spanish language version of item #1451, slightly modified to address issues specific to Hispanic populations in the United States. In low literacy language and bullet point form, it exposes the dangers of tobacco smoke for non-smokers and presents statistics on the number of people affected by secondhand smoke each year. The pamphlet features a section on children, the principal victims of secondhand smoke, and points out that secondhand smoke can be both a cause and trigger of asthma in children. Finally, there is a section devoted to how people can protect themselves at the workplace, which encourages people to lobby their employers to enact anti-smoking policies at the workplace.

• Questions and Answers About Smoking and Health (ALA Item #0930C)--This CD-size booklet has been rewritten and redesigned specifically for teenage readers. In addition to questions about the health effects of smoking, the booklet answers questions about body image, social norms and peer pressure that are so important to teens. For teens who are already smoking, there are some questions about quitting. Readers who are ready to quit are referred to Freedom From Smoking® Online and the N-O-T program.

• Stop Smoking - Control Your Weight (ALA Item #2102C)--This five-fold brochure is for people who recently quit smoking and want to make sure that they do not gain weight. The text gives positive reinforcement and shows how people who smoke generally maintain a lower body weight than non-smokers, but points out how this often changes after quitting. It provides information on the effects of quitting on the body, including metabolic changes and increased appetite. It then provides ten steps on how to keep the weight off and it has a food pyramid to educate the reader about the kinds of foods that comprise a healthy diet. Also included in Freedom From Smoking® Clinic Kit (Item #4231).

• Teens Against Tobacco Use T.A.T.U. A Resource Guide for Teens (ALA Item #0232X)--The TIPS Guide is the handbook for teen participants. It includes information about preparing and presenting lessons for younger children, as well as some strategies for community action.

• Teens Against Tobacco Use T.A.T.U. Facilitators Guide - (ALA Item #0231)--The revised Facilitators Guide has been updated, and includes sections on program coordination, marketing, training and community action. An important new section on program evaluation, including a pre- and post-test for student participants, has been added. The Guide is intended for use by staff and volunteers coordinating the program, as well as by adult facilitators and trainers

 

For more information, your local association may have additional materials on this subject. Please contact the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA.

*Racial and ethnic minority terminology reflects those terms used by the Centers For Disease Control.