As part of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the Evanston Health Department launched a program to help Evanston adults quit smoking.
Called “Break the Habit,” the program offers free weekly counseling sessions and nicotine patches. The program is funded through a grant from the Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities, which is distributed to about 30 counties and cities throughout the state.
Tobacco leads to more than 5 million deaths per year worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By 2030, that figure is expected to reach more than 8 million deaths annually.
Evanston’s health department is also working with the Erie-Evanston Community Health Clinic at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, said Carl Caneva, the city’s health department division manager. Workers at the clinic recommend smokers take advantage of the program, although they do not force anyone to enroll.
“It’s not a pressure kind of thing,” Caneva said. “We don’t push anyone any way they don’t want to go.”
In addition to “Break the Habit,” the health department is working with different community partners to spread awareness about the dangers of smoking, implement better smoke-free policies and decrease the availability of tobacco products, especially for minors, Caneva said.
For instance, minors will regularly go into stores to see if they can buy tobacco, Caneva said. If the minor is able to purchase tobacco, the location is given a ticket by the Evanston Police Department and has to serve under an administrative watch.
In addition to Evanston parks, beaches and restaurants being smoke-free, the city tobacco ordinance expands on the Illinois law that smoking is only permitted if an individual is 15 feet from a public building’s entrance. Evanston has increased that distance to 25 feet and includes open areas.
Two Northwestern students had differing views on the program’s premise.
“I think that’s really good because quitting alone is hard to do,” said Medill sophomore Marina Braga, who has been smoking since she was 14.
On the other hand, Matt Multach, who said he picked up smoking from a friend he worked with in high school, cautioned that the program might not be effective for everyone.
“Nicotine patches work for some people; the thing is nicotine patches are still nicotine,” the Weinberg junior said. “For me, it doesn’t work.”
