Community

Ready to Quit Smoking?

Spectrum Health Offers Class to End Tobacco Use

Is your smoking habit taking a toll on your health? It’s time to kick the tobacco addiction once and for all.
Only 4 percent to 7 percent of people are able to quit smoking on any given attempt without help. If you have struggled in the past to stop using tobacco, don’t give up. The benefits are too great.

Libby Stern, MSW, a nationally certified tobacco addiction specialist, will facilitate Quit 101: Smoking Cessation Class, on Thursday, July 19, at 6:30 p.m. A former smoker herself, Libby will help you develop a plan to stop tobacco use that is tailored to your needs and help you find the motivation to stick with it. Information about medications used to assist with quitting will also be provided, as well as a free Nicotine Replacement Therapy sample.

The class will be held at Spectrum Health Healthier Communities, 665 Seward NW, Suite 110, Grand Rapids. This session is free to the public, however, registration is required. Call 616.267.2626 and select option 4.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of nine hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a state of the art children’s hospital that opened in January 2011, and 190 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 600 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 600,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with more than 18,000 employees. The organization provided $176.5 million in community benefit during its 2011 fiscal year.