Commit to Quit, and get a turkey sandwich if you do!

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Krystal Foster
  • 509th Medical Operation Squadron
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The Whiteman AFB Health and Wellness Center is encouraging tobacco users to join others nationwide and give up tobacco for 24 hours in celebration of the 37th Annual Great American Smokeout Nov. 15.

Members who bring in half of a pack or more of tobacco product, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chew or dip, electronic cigarette supplies to the Health and Wellness Center on Nov. 15 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. will receive a free "cold turkey" sandwich in return for surrendering the remaining tobacco products that they own prior to that special moment of quitting.

According to the American Lung Association, every year in the U.S. over 392,000 people die from tobacco-caused diseases, making it the leading cause of preventable death. Another 50,000 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smokers who quit smoking can see benefits of that decision within 20 minutes of their last cigarette:

-- 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
-- 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood pressure drops to normal.
-- Two weeks to three months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
-- One to nine months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decreases; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection.
-- One year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker's.
-- Five years after quitting: Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and bladder are cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risks can fall to that of a non-smoker after 2-5 years.
-- 10 years after quitting: Risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking. The risk of cancer of the larynx and pancreas decreases.
-- 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's.

Earlier this year, the Air Force Instruction governing tobacco use in the Air Force, 40-102, was significantly revised.

Very soon, Team Whiteman members and visitors will notice several efforts being made by a working group led by the 509th Civil Engineer Squadron's Asset Management office to improve the health of all who live, work, and play in the confines of Whiteman AFB.

Among these efforts will be the reduction of locations where tobacco may be used, known as Designated Tobacco Areas, or DTAs. Of primary importance to the working group is assisting tobacco users in cessation efforts and minimizing the health risks to others from second hand tobacco smoke exposure.

To assist tobacco users in quitting, the Health and Wellness Center provides onsite classes, and access to online based support or telephone counseling support.

The program emphasizes that quitting tobacco and maintaining abstinence is a learning process where individuals must learn to manage nicotine addiction, unlearn automatic behaviors of smoking and substitute healthy alternatives.

To learn more about the Great American Smokeout or Tobacco Cessation classes, call 687-3936. Additionally, more information can be found on the HAWCFaceBook page at: www.facebook.com/WhitemanHAWC.