A New Year, A New You: 'Tis the Season to Resolve to Quit in 2012

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 45 million Americans smoke and two out of three – nearly 69 percent – want to quit. More than 52 percent tried last year. For some smokers, the New Year brings an opportunity to resolve to quit, for others like Tommy Piver, it marks an important anniversary of starting a new life as an ex-smoker.

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Born in North Carolina in 1952, Tommy lived in the 'world's foremost tobacco market.' His uncle was a tobacco farmer and his dad worked the tobacco markets. Everyone he knew smoked and by age 13, Tommy was a pack-a-day smoker.

"After 44 years of smoking regularly, taxes and insurance rates made me realize that I had to quit, and on January 1st, 2010 I just did it," recounted Tommy of his decision to quit. "I had no idea how I was going to make it. By day 8, I was ready for a fight and I saw a commercial for BecomeAnEX.org and thought that might be just the place for it. After spending a little time on the site, I figured out that the people on the site wanted to help me."

Quitting smoking is ultimately one of the most important lifestyle changes people can make to improve and extend their lives. EX^® is a free online quit smoking program designed to help smokers "re-learn" life without cigarettes. Tobacco-related disease is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States; smokers therefore need to be armed with all of the available information to make the best, most informed choices about the smoking cessation medications and resources available. Successful quitters, like Tommy, plan to spend the season sharing what he calls "collateral kindness" – helping himself, by assisting others who are ready to make a quit attempt.

"The New Year is the ideal time for smokers to re-evaluate their daily routines, identify why they smoke and make changes that help them re-learn their routines and daily life without cigarettes," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy, the national non-profit behind EX. "While quitting is very difficult, it is possible, and quitters like Tommy prove that with a plan, advice from health care providers and support from family and friends, smokers can greatly increase the chances that this time will be their final quit attempt."

Because social support is so important, BecomeAnEX.org is a convening point for smokers who want to quit and collaborate on their successes and challenges in the difficult quit process. Since March 2008, when the program first debuted, more than two million people have visited the site and more than 500,000 smokers have joined the online community, forming nearly 400 customized support groups. EX tools were designed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and with input from former and current smokers who have lived with this struggle, in order to provide smokers with a realistic approach based on evidence-based research.

"I have beaten a whole laundry list of health issues, from cancer to heart attacks. Every morning I wake up proud that I quit and proud to be a part of a community that does so much for so many," commented Tommy.

EX is encouraging smokers to re-learn life without cigarettes in 2012 by pledging to quit. The pledge event will take place on Facebook.com/BecomeAnEX where smokers can interact with one another about their resolution to quit. Join the online event or visit BecomeAnEX.org to plan a quit attempt this season or throughout the year.

EX^® helps smokers prepare to quit and guides them to useful resources that foster successful quit attempts including the EX plan, a free personalized quit plan available on the campaign's website www.BecomeAnEX.org. EX is the culmination of several years of research and testing, combining an understanding of the power of nicotine addiction with messages that resonate with and motivate smokers toward behavior change. The EX approach is peer to peer and focuses on "re-learning life without cigarettes" by encouraging smokers to think differently about the process of quitting. The campaign, which began airing nationwide in March 2008, includes television, radio, online and out-of-home advertising. The EX website helps smokers create their own individual plan to quit and connects them to a virtual community of other smokers where they can share stories and strategies about quitting.

Legacy^® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps Americans live longer, healthier lives. Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth^®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX^®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. Legacy was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit http://www.legacyforhealth.org/.

SOURCE Legacy