Wellness Programs

Smoking Cessation

An estimated 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking. Smoking is responsible for an estimated one in five U.S. deaths and costs the U.S. over $250 billion each year in healthcare costs and lost productivity. About 48 million Americans smoke cigarettes, but most smokers are either actively trying to quit or want to quit. Since 1965, more than 40 percent of all adults who have ever smoked have quit.

The Surgeon General’s Report includes these findings:

• After one year without cigarettes, the risk of heart disease caused by smoking is reduced by half. After 15 years of abstinence, the risk is similar to that for people who’ve never smoked.
• In 5 to 15 years, the risk of stroke for ex-smokers returns to the level of those who’ve never smoked.
• Male smokers who quit between ages 35 to 39 add an average of 5 years to their lives. Female quitters in this age group add 3 years. Men and women who quit at ages 65 to 69 increase their life expectancy by 1 year.

DFD offers counseling and resources to assist patients with their efforts to quit smoking. DFD assesses readiness to quit, helps establish a target date, provides follow-up support via care management calls and wellness coaching, suggests the best quit smoking aids, and supplies vouchers for nicotine replacement therapy to individuals whose insurance does not cover it.