Jbs Beef Plant 800 Ave 8st
Weld Health employees this week spoke with hundreds of people about quitting smoking in recognition of the Great American Smokeout, an American Cancer Society day to promote tobacco cessation.
County employees set up a booth Thursday outside the JBS beef plant at 800 N. 8th Ave., in Greeley. JBS is the county's largest employer. To help reduce smoking, the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment contacted JBS about partnering for the event.
Brooklyn Larimore, a public health communication specialist for the county, said they hoped to encourage people to take the first step to living nicotine-free lives, wherever they're at on their journey to quit.
"Some people are committed. Some people are really thinking about and wanting to commit to it. There's also that pre-contemplation phase where, 'I'm smoking, and maybe I'll quit one day,'" she said. "This was just getting people to transition through those phases to actually commit."
Smoking continues to be the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world, according to the American Cancer Society, causing about 480,000 deaths every year. County employees collected tobacco products, whether it was a single cigarette or a pack, and had participants sign a pledge to quit. In return, JBS employees were entered for a chance to win King Soopers gift cards. JBS also provided turkeys as an incentive.
JBS denied the Greeley Tribune access to the event. A voicemail to a company spokesman seeking an explanation was not returned.
Larimore said they distributed about 175 "quit kits" and signed up about 40 people for the Colorado QuitLine, a free resource that provides quit coaches and nicotine replacement products like patches, gum or lozenges. In speaking with tobacco users interested in quitting, Larimore found the most common reason given for wanting to quit was family
"It's usually for somebody else that they love that wants them to because they care about them," she said.
Another top reason for quitting was improving general health, including mental health. Though smokers may use tobacco to cope with stress, Larimore explained, it increases the body's stress response, making symptoms of stress worse.
Though smoking rates have decreased over the past decade in Weld County, nearly 1 in 7 residents still use tobacco products. County officials have identified two areas with the highest smoking rates, Larimore said: the Island Grove neighborhood in Greeley and Fort Lupton. While Weld has a 17% tobacco and e-cigarette use rate, Fort Lupton has a rate of 30%, Larimore said.
New nicotine products have complicated efforts to reduce smoking rates, with people who use vaping products or other nicotine products having a higher chance of smoking cigarettes later on, according to Larimore.
In a news release for the Great American Smokeout, the county noted two or more of the following strategies helps tobacco users quit:
- Telephone quit lines
- Nicotine Anonymous meetings
- Smoking counselors or coaches
- Self-help books and materials
- Encouragement and support from friends and family members.
"No matter how long they've smoked or how much they smoked, vaped or chewed, it's never too late to quit," Larimore said. "Your body can recover in the first 20 minutes, and the benefits just continue throughout there.
"Nicotine addiction cannot be kicked in one day, but it does start with one day."
For more information and resources to help with quitting, go to www.COQuitLine.org. The Colorado QuitLine can be reached at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
Source: https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/11/19/weld-health-employees-promote-tobacco-cessation-in-smokeout-event/
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