COMMIT TO QUIT ON WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY

Event Provides Opportunity for Tobacco Users to Sign Digital Quit Pledge

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 27, 2021) – May 31 is World No Tobacco Day, a global event encouraging tobacco users to sign a digital pledge and “Commit to Quit.” Every year, more than 8 million people die from tobacco use. In support of this effort, the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) offers two FREE programs to Oklahomans that can assist with their quit — the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline and My Life, My Quit.

The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline provides FREE services and resources including patches, gum or lozenges to Oklahomans thinking about quitting tobacco. Additionally, Quit Coaches are available 24/7 to assist in creating a customized quit plan. If you use tobacco and are thinking about quitting, call 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit OKHelpline.com for free, nonjudgmental support. Since 2003, more than 450,000 Oklahomans have reached out to use the Helpline resources.

“While there’s no one right way to quit tobacco, we know that most tobacco users want to quit, and don’t want to see their children become addicted to tobacco,” said Julie Bisbee, TSET executive director. “I hope World No Tobacco Day inspires those thinking about quitting to ‘Commit to Quit’ and access the free services TSET offers to all Oklahomans. The best time to quit is always now.”

While tobacco products are illegal to purchase for those under 21, roughly 9% of Oklahoma’s high school students are current tobacco users, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Because Oklahoma’s youth rate is nearly twice the national average (4.6%), it is estimated that 88,000 Oklahoma kids will ultimately die prematurely from smoking as adults.

Role models, especially parents, play a major role in determining youth tobacco usage. Children of parents who smoke are twice as likely to begin smoking between 13 and 21. Quitting now can save your child from a lifetime of addiction.

If your child is already struggling with tobacco use, My Life, My Quit is a TSET program that offers Oklahoma teens 13-17 the opportunity to “Commit to Quit” tobacco with FREE text or web-based coaching. Each teen gets quit help via text, phone or online with trained staff using proven methods for quitting. Teens can text 36072 for real-time coaching or visit MyLifeMyQuit.com to learn more about the program and enroll online.

In Oklahoma alone, tobacco claims 7,500 lives and costs the state $1.62 billion in health care costs annually. It’s estimated that smoking costs each Oklahoma household an extra $1,165 each year due to smoking-related state and federal government expenditures.

Tobacco Stops With Me, also a program of the TSET, encourages all Oklahomans to stand up to Big Tobacco’s long history of peddling their deadly products and blocking policies that would improve the health of all Oklahomans. For the latest information on how to protect your family and community against the harms of tobacco, sign up for the Tobacco Stops With Me newsletter at StopsWithMe.com. You can also connect with Tobacco Stops With Me on Facebook or by following @StopsWithMe on Twitter.

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Tobacco Stops With Me is a statewide campaign, funded through the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Trust, that provides an efficient, emotional and highly recognizable tobacco-free message for Oklahomans to rally around. By educating the public about the negative effects and impact of tobacco, the goal of Tobacco Stops With Me is to prevent and reduce tobacco use, and improve the health and quality of life of every Oklahoman. Tobacco Stops With Me aims to inspire individuals to make positive changes—not only for their own health, but for the health of the entire state as well. Free resources and more information at StopsWithMe.com.

My Life, My Quit is a free program to help Oklahoma teens, ages 13-17, quit tobacco, including e-cigarettes. Offering tools most utilized by teens, free live texting, web chat and phone calls, My Life, My Quit supports teens through the steps of quitting tobacco to be able to live tobacco free. Funded by the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, these free services for Oklahoma teens can be found at MyLifeMyQuit.com by texting “Start My Quit” to 36072.

The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, visit www.ok.gov/tset.

TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health

For more information, contact:
Thomas Larson, Director of Public Information and Outreach
thomasl@tset.ok.gov
Cell: (405) 642-6860

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The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is a FREE service for Oklahomans wanting to quit tobacco. Funding is primarily provided by the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Oklahoma Employees Group Insurance Division and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline has served more than 365,000 Oklahomans since 2003 and was ranked the top quitline for reaching tobacco users seeking treatment in FY2013 by the North American Quitline Consortium.

The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working towards shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more go to: www.ok.gov/tset.

For more information, contact:
Thomas Larson, Director of Public Information and Outreach
thomasl@tset.ok.gov
Direct: (405) 521-4992
Cell: (405) 642-6860