Thursday, October 09, 2014
Grey Bruce Health Unit
STOP Program: Support for Ontario smokers who wish to quit smoking
For many smokers the cost of nicotine replacement products can be a barrier to quitting. The STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) Program workshop offers eligible participants in Grey and Bruce counties, five weeks of cost-free nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation information to help them in their quit attempt.
Nicotine replacement therapy has been shown to effectively help people quit smoking by easing withdrawal symptoms. Workshop participants also receive educational material with quit smoking and relapse prevention strategies, along with information to address other unhealthy lifestyle factors that are known to accompany smoking.
STOP workshops will be held in:
- Wiarton on Wednesday, October 15 from 6 to 8 pm
- Kincardine on Tuesday, October 21 from 6 to 8 pm
- Port Elgin on Monday, October 27 from 6 to 8 pm
- Meaford on Wednesday, October 29 from 6 to 8 pm
- Durham on Monday, November 17 from 5 to 7 pm
- Owen Sound on Monday, December 8 from 9:30 am to 12 noon.
For more information, to see if you are eligible to participate, and to register for a workshop please call Public Health at 519-376-9420 ext 1212.
The STOP Program is led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as part of its Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy. CAMH is Canada’s leading addiction and mental health teaching hospital. Integrating clinical care, scientific research, education, policy development and health promotion, CAMH transforms the lives of people impacted by mental health and addiction issues.
Background: The STOP Program
Introduced in 2005 through a partnership between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the former Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport, the STOP Program has already provided smoking cessation medication, free of charge, along with support to 90,000 Ontarians.
Questionnaires administered before and as follow up to treatment will help STOP Program researchers learn more about the long-term impact of providing nicotine replacement therapy and other smoking cessation aids free of charge to smokers across Ontario. To date, results for STOP participants have shown an improvement of at least two times the typical quit rates.
Media Contact:
Beth Karrow, RN, BScN
Public Health Nurse
Grey Bruce Health Unit
519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 ext 2231
B.Karrow@publichealthgreybruce.on.ca
Michael Torres
CAMH Media Relations
416-595-6015
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