William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital

The Great American Smokeout on November 19,2020 can be your day to begin celebrating living a healthier life – one without tobacco.

Madison VA encourages Veterans to leave smoking behind during yearly Great American Smokeout

MADISON, WI— The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is encouraging Veterans to take the first step, Nov. 19, to stop smoking as part of the annual Great American Smokeout to improve their physical and mental health by combining cessation counseling with other VA clinical resources and support.

Research shows behavioral counseling can significantly improve one’s chances of quitting and combining counseling and medication works better than medication or counseling alone.

Last year the US Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a new 1 million dollar grant to the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison to be the first ever to evaluate a chronic care system designed to help veterans who are not ready to quit smoking.

“We hope this study will help us identify an effective smoking treatment strategy for VA clinical practice,” said lead researcher Dr. Jessica Cook. “Helping more veterans quit smoking will improve the health of veterans across the VA.”

VA’s smoking counseling programs are one of the most effective tools available for Veterans who want to permanently stop smoking. VA health care providers can help Veterans explore the role tobacco plays in their daily routine, including the activities or situations that trigger someone to use tobacco products. These triggers can include talking on the phone, drinking coffee or alcohol or feeling bored or stressed. VA providers work with Veterans to develop strategies for coping with those triggers and to tailor plans for quitting that will fit into each Veteran’s everyday life.

In addition to counseling, VA provides other services designed to help Veterans stop smoking, including prescription medications, nicotine-replacement products like gum and patches and resources such as Quit VET and SmokefreeVET.

For more information about tobacco cessation resources at the Madison VA visit: https://www.madison.va.gov/services/Tobacco_Cessation.asp or www.mentalhealth.va.gov/quit-tobacco.

To learn more about the Veteran Smokers Health Study please call 608-280-2213.

For more information about the Madison VA Hospital, visit www.madison.va.gov or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MadisonVAHospital.