City’s health department launches program for quitting smoking

In honor of November being Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the city’s health department and the American Cancer Society are launching a public health program called “Break the Habit” through the Illinois Tobacco Quitline.

The program, funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health, is open to all Evanston residents 18 and older. Participants will be supplied with eight weeks of free nicotine patches and information on how to quit, according to a news release issued Tuesday.

To obtain those patches, participants must call the Illinois Tobacco Quitline, schedule a quit date and engage in a weekly counseling session over the phone with a Quitline counselor.

Tobacco use leads to more than five million deaths each year, according to the news release.

Residents who wish to sign up for “Break the Habit” can call the Illinois Tobacco Quitline at 1-866-QUIT-YES.

– Kimberly Railey