Commit to quit

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephanie Morris
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Nineteen thousand one hundred and ninety nine dollars, the average amount of money a smoker will spend on cigarettes if they smoke one pack a day for ten years. That's almost $2,000 a year on cigarettes, which is the same amount an average family spends on gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The amount of money spent on cigarettes more than doubles if the individual smokes two packs a day, $38,398.

However, the impact smoking can have on an individual is not limited to their wallet. Common problems caused by smoking include, yellowed teeth, bad breath and receding gums. Long term effects include heart disease, cancer, impotence and a weakened immune system.

Smoking while pregnant can result in damages not only to the mother's body but her unborn child as well. Infants who have mothers that smoke have an increased risk of being born premature, with a low birth weight or the mother suffering a miscarriage.

The American Lung Association states that in addition to nicotine, cigarettes contain 63 cancer-causing chemicals, including the same elements found in nail polish remover, battery acid and cadaver preservers.

They also go on to explain smoking is the top leading cause of preventable death, contributing to more than 440,000 deaths every year in the U.S. alone.

Because of the detrimental effects smoking can have on the body, and in an effort to assist smokers on their road to beating the addiction, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, hosted
The Great American Smoke Out at the 5th Medical Group November 19, 2015.

The event focused on tools Airmen and their families can use to help kick the habit and "Commit to Quit Kits" were handed out to those looking for ways to stop smoking.

"Our goal is to hand out 300 or more quit kits this year," said Lori Halvorson Health and Wellness Center health promotion coordinator. "When we say 'quit kit's we also mean smokeless tobacco. The kits are stress survival kits and contain a pledge paper for Airmen to fill out and find a wingman that can help them stop smoking."

Any Airman who goes tobacco free for 24 hours can turn their kit back in to be entered for a drawing to win prizes such as Fit Bits.

The medical group also partnered with the staff of the base fitness center who hosted a "Cold Turkey Fun Run" 5k run to support the fight for Airmen trying to break their smoking habit.

"Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in America," said Halvorson. "All we're asking is for Airmen to try to quit for 24 hours and hopefully this can help them to make that new routine stick."

For further information on either event or to find out what tools are available to help you or someone you know quit smoking, contact the Minot AFB Health and Wellness Center at 723-5399.