McChord joins the Great American Smokeout

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  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • Staff writer
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Airmen are encouraged to give themselves 24 hours without tobacco on Thursday as part of the Great American Smokeout campaign. Air Force senior leaders, including Chief Master Sergeant Rodney McKinley, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, have taken an active role in the campaign and are urging Airmen to use all resources they have available to help them kick the habit. 

"You're probably going to need help along the way, whether it's nicotine patches or whatever it's going to take," Chief McKinley said. "Also, you've got to find some other avenues to help relieve the stress and pressure, so if you get that urge you can go do something about it. It's a very difficult thing, and you've got to be committed because it's really easy to get back and smoke that first cigarette, and then you're right back on it again." 

Statistics from a recent poll show nearly 25 percent of the McChord population uses tobacco, according to Tanya Henriques, the health education program manager at the Health and Wellness Center. 

"We're also seeing an increase in use for Airmen in the E-1 to E-3 range," Ms. Henriques said. "That's disturbing and shows we need to continue to make an effort into changing the tobacco use culture." 

The HAWC offers tobacco cessation classes which use a combination of prescription medications and techniques aimed at teaching people to recognize certain behavioral patterns that can lead to lighting up, Ms. Henriques said. 

"We teach people to cope with those triggers without turning to cigarettes and develop a behavioral plan to address every trigger," she said. 

Making a commitment to kicking the habit is key to accomplishing the goal and sometimes it can take between seven and nine attempts before people are able to quit, Ms. Henriques said. 

"I think for someone really trying to quit, first you've got to make the decision in your mind, 'I am going to quit.' And understand it's not going to be easy, but you have to make a decision that you're going to quit," Chief McKinley said. "And you have to seek some professional advice to quit because if you just try doing it by yourself, it's probably going to be very, very difficult. So my advice is be very committed and don't attempt to do this by yourself." 

Participating in Thursday's smokeout is a good way to get started, Ms. Henriques said. 

"If an individual can quit for 24 hours, then they can do it for a lifetime," she said. Tobacco cessation classes are open to all Defense Department identification cardholders. Call the HAWC at 982-5474 for more information.