Smoke Free Fair Sends Positive Signals

BRIDGEPORT - Hundreds of visitors and employees got a positive message about the importance of not smoking and learned about the support available to quit at the recent Smoke-Free Health Fair held in the main lobby of the Medical Center.

A new facility-wide smoke-free policy went into affect at St. Vincent’s on November 16, the same day as the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout. The Smoke-Free Fair featured many booths including Smoke Stoppers, Hypnosis, Connecticut QuitLine (1-866-END-HABIT), stress reduction weight control, exercise, and information on all aspects of quitting.

Many participants gathered around the Smoke Stoppers table to learn about this popular and proven St. Vincent’s program funded by Swim Across the Sound. It is being offered free of charge to employees who want help quitting.

Instructor Susan Richards, who smoked for 30 years, said that people “have to be motivated to quit.”

“You may have to quit four times before it sticks, but people can do it” she said. “It really only takes three days for the nicotine to get out of your system. Then you have to deal with the head games and the rituals around smoking,”

She said many smokers are reluctant to try to quit because they’re ashamed of failing. 

Ms Richards tells visitors that she smoked through two pregnancies, her father’s own death from lung cancer and burn marks in the upholstery of her brand new car before she decided to quit. In her case, a few hypnosis sessions worked and she hasn’t smoked in years.

She credited Fran Palumbo, a certified hypnotist who answered questions in an adjoining booth, as a major contributor to her success.  Ms Palumbo offers smokers two options, “Stop Right Now,” a two-session program for those who have smoked for fewer than ten years and quit before, and a longer therapeutic program for those who are lifetime smokers.

She says that while people fear or mistrust hypnosis, it simply uses the power of suggestion to help people overcome destructive habits or re-channel their energy and impulses.

“It’s not unlike going to a movie. You willingly suspend your belief and give in to a sad emotion. The hypnotized mind can exert a real and powerful effect on the body. It opens a person more than usual to the power of suggestion, which can be used to improve health and well being,” she said, adding that hypnosis frees people to do what they really want to do by removing barriers to change.

One of the busiest booths at the fair was the food and nutrition display led by Mary Ellen Conway, MS, RD, St. Vincent’s Outpatient Dietitian and Nutrition Educator. She said that most people worry about gaining weight after they quit smoking, but there are things they can do to avoid weight gain.

“Smoking increases metabolism and also creates a sense of craving,” she explained. “Often people will replace that with craving for food.” 

She said one of the best ways to deal with  it is to eat lean and often.

“Eat several small meals throughout the day, drink lots of fluids and don’t worry about your weight. If you get the munchies, try carrots, celery, popcorn or other low-cal snacks. In addition to controlling weight, they give smokers the chance to exercise the hand to mouth gesture without actually lighting up,” she said.

Conway recommends that people trying to quit avoid alcohol, caffeine, or other beverages they associate with smoking. Exercise is also one of most effective ways to break the smoking habit, says Sarah Collins, St. Vincent’s Exercise Physiologist who works with employees in the Employee Health and Fitness Center. 

The Center is now open Monday through Friday with expanded hours.

But rather than the “tough love” of suddenly getting in shape, Ms Collins offers a more soothing, customized approach to working with employees. She says that those who quit will breathe better after even one week of exercise and find stairs much less challenging.

By getting the body a little bit leaner, smokers can more easily overcome cravings and quickly regain some of their life which had been taken over by cigarettes.

Barbara Giannettino who co-chairs the St. Vincent’s employee Smoke Free committee along with Sandy Reyes, said that the response to the health fair was “enthusiastic with people eager to get information, with many people telling her and others that they wanted help quitting. “It has been really positive.”

For more information about Smoke Stoppers and other programs available through St. Vincent’s, call the St. Vincent’s Care Line at 1-877-255-SVHS.