Smoking Cessation Class at Mercy to Start in January


Event Details


The use of tobacco kills more than 480,000 Americans every year from lung cancer, heart disease, COPD and other conditions that result from smoking.  There are over 7,000 chemicals in not only cigarettes but also cigars and cigarillos. Nearly 70 of these are cancer-causing chemicals known as carcinogens, including carbon monoxide, arsenic, DDT, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.  Nicotine is the addictive substance in a cigarette which can make it difficult for people to quit.

Quitting is not easy, that’s why Mercy Medical Center is reaching out to help people in our community stop smoking.   In addition to working with patients while they are in the hospital, Mercy is also offering smoking cessation classes which are open to the community.

“Freedom from Smoking®” is a seven-week course developed by the American Lung Association.  Two seven – week sessions are scheduled to begin in January at Mercy Medical Center – North Campus. The sessions begin on January 9 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. or January 24 from 9 – 10:30 a.m.  Participants are able to work together to prepare for a “quit” date.  Call 563-244-3539 for more information or to sign up for the course.  With grant funds received from the Gateway United Way, participants are able to take the course for no cost.

There are many reasons people should quit smoking. Within 20 minutes after an individual quits, both blood pressure and heart rate drop back to normal. Within just eight hours, a person’s oxygen in the blood increases. Within 24 hours, the chance of having a heart attack decreases. Within a couple of weeks to three months, lung function can increase by 30 percent.  In one to nine months, coughing, shortness of breath and fatigue decreases.  After only five years of not smoking, the lung cancer death rate for an average former smoker decreases by half.  Within ten years of quitting, the lung cancer death rate is similar to nonsmokers.

For more information or to sign up for the course, please contact 563 244-3539.

About Dave Vickers

Dave has been News Director since 1983 and has been Station General Manager since 1999. Dave has also served on the Board of Directors of the Iowa Broadcast News Association and the Iowa Broadcast Association and has served on the Iowa Freedom of Information Council.
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