Resource Guide

Help eliminate tobacco use on World No Tobacco Day

  • Published
FALLS CHURCH, Va. --  All TRICARE beneficiaries can celebrate World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

Created in 1987 by World Health Organization, World No Tobacco Day encourages tobacco users all over the globe to go tobacco-free for 24 hours to raise awareness about the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and its negative health effects.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.  Worldwide, tobacco use causes nearly 6 million deaths per year, and current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than 8 million deaths annually by 2030.  TRICARE officials are encouraging beneficiaries to take advantage of the many resources available to help them kick their tobacco addiction.

Service members can start their tobacco-free mission with Quit Tobacco-UCanQuit2.org, a tobacco education campaign for the military.  Quit Tobacco offers 24/7 live chat with trained tobacco cessation coaches armed with steps to help people quit. Quit Tobacco also offers SmokefreeMIL, a support text message program specifically for service members trying to quit tobacco. No matter where people are, as long as they have a cell phone, SmokefreeMIL offers encouraging words and tips to help beat the addiction. All resources are free.

All TRICARE beneficiaries ready to quit smoking can take part in a new study for the Department of Defense community.  The Freedom Smoking Quitline is a research study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and co-sponsored by the Air Force and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.  People interested in participating in the Freedom Smoking Quitline program can call 1-844-I-AM-FREE (1-844-426-3733) toll free, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT. The Quitline counselor will require about 30 minutes to determine eligibility for the study and enrollment. More information is available at http://www.freedomquitline.org/.

TRICARE tobacco cessation benefits are available to all beneficiaries who are not eligible for Medicare, and a diagnosis for a smoking-related illness is not required to use TRICARE smoking cessation benefits. For more information, visit TRICARE.mil.

On World No Tobacco Day, quit tobacco and know you are quitting with people all around the world. Don't let tobacco nag you! It's time to get the help you need. To get involved in WNTD visit Quit Tobacco's event page. (Courtesy of TRICARE News)