How do you help someone quit smoking?
Answer: Recommend using research-backed and proven-effective resources for support. Remind the tobacco user that it can take multiple attempts to quit. And reinforce that while they may attempt to quit without help, support is critical and can improve the chances of long-term success.
Just ask John Peet.
John is a Nashville bar owner who quit smoking with support from EX Program. He smoked a pack per day for more than 15 years. After losing a family member to lung cancer and witnessing a friend’s current battle with cancer, John decided to focus on improving his mental and physical health by quitting.
His journey to live tobacco free is chronicled in a series of short vlogs compiled here, which he hopes will inspire others.
John’s decision to stop is well-timed, as new regulations in Nashville will bring the indoor smoking culture in bars to an end.
New regulations in Nashville go into effect March 2023
As the owner of Jane’s Hideaway, a restaurant, bar, and live music venue in East Nashville, John is intimately familiar with the pervasive smoking culture in the Southern bar scene.
New regulations set to go into effect in March 2023 will likely change that. The Metropolitan Council recently passed an ordinance that prohibits smoking tobacco products inside these businesses and rejected a provision exempting some Nashville bars that said smoking is part of their culture.
Though indoor smoking has been illegal in most Tennessee establishments since 2007, the law exempted some businesses restricted to ages 21 and up. Now, local governments have the power to regulate smoking and vaping in those venues, too.
How to help someone quit smoking with EX Program
To quit smoking, John took full advantage of EX Program, particularly the support provided by the EX Community.
The EX Community is the longest running online community dedicated to helping people quit smoking, vaping, and smokeless tobacco. Each month, thousands of EX Community members share information and support each other through the platform’s various communication channels, including private messages, blogs, message boards and group discussions.
In one section of the EX Community forum, users post goodbye letters to cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine. Inspired by these letters, John submitted a powerful goodbye letter of his own that said “It’s been 15 years of you being a constant pesky backseat driver. My mouth deserves better than you, my lungs, heart, and future relationships don’t need you around.”
EX Program members also have access to live chat coaching sessions with tobacco treatment experts, which John used for support prior to attending an event where friends would be smoking.
Additionally, EX Program offers up to 8 weeks of quit medication delivered right to the participant’s home. Using nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges is a personal choice for each tobacco user, and John did not use this feature. Every quit journey is different and our EX Coaches support each individual’s decision on whether to use it.
Benefit of evidence-based digital tools
EX Program helps thousands to overcome nicotine addiction every day.
By helping people quit smoking, we know we are saving lives, which is why we are committed to providing our evidence-based resources and tools to as many people as possible.
We’re thrilled to help John quit smoking and provide continued support to help him stay quit.
And we look forward to starting a conversation with your organization to see how we can make living tobacco free possible for more of your population. Simply complete a contact us form to get started.
