Smoking Cessation Classes Set To Begin

In Idaho 16.8% of people smoke. Although that is lower than the national average of 20 % It's a number that's still too high for the Southeastern District Health Department.
Rose Sterner, Smoked for 43 Years: "Sitting down having a cup of coffee and a cigarette was our way of life."
But, after 43 years of smoking Rose has now been tobacco free for 2 years.
Rose Sterner: "It was a lot of money, it was a lot of lost time and hopefully I'm not going to have to pay for the time I blew that way."
Rose and her husband quit with the help of a free tobacco cessation program put on by the Southeastern District Health Department.
Traci Lambson, Health Education Specialist: "It's a class that'll give you the tools so you can quit when you're ready."
The tools include education about tobacco and helps smokers find the best way to quit for them, be it cold turkey or with the help of medication to squash the addiction.
Traci Lambson: "Anytime you couple any class with nicotine replacement therapy your chances of remaining tobacco free are even greater."
Rose Sterner: "It's got to be between your ears, you've got to want to do this."
For Rose and her husband it's given them a new lease of life; a life that no longer revolves around cigarettes.
Rose Sterner: "I don't think I'd go back to smoking. It has no interest to me."