Smoke Free Mobile County Quit-A-Thon

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - On Thursday, a  team of medical experts from the Mobile County Health Department were standing by and answering non stop phone calls from smokers wanting help to kick the habit. 

Stephanie Woods-Crawford, with the Mobile County Health Department, was just one of the volunteers and said most of the calls came from people who were able to quit before, just not for good.

"We've had some calls from people that said they returned to smoking after quitting for two years, because of the stress, loss of family loss of income or parents have passed away, " said Woods-Crawford.

Smoking can be a hard habit to break, which is why WALA, WFNA, and Smoke Free Mobile County hosted the event for support.

When it comes to smoking, there are many adverse effects. 

Most people know it can cause lung cancer ,but it can also lead to various lung diseases, infertility, coronary heart disease, and is associated with hip fractures in women.

Once people make the decision to quit, finding the proper resources on how to leave tobacco behind for good isn't always easy.  But with the telethon, all it took was one phone call.

"They will receive one on one counseling from a counselor that counselor will be with them every step of the way encouraging them to quit smoking and all tobacco use," Woods-Crawford explained.

Ultimately, the health department would like to see an entire smoke-free county.  However, the issue is currently at a stand-still.  Recently, Mobile City Council members rejected a ban on smoking in restaurants and public places.  Smoking is banned in public buildings, but the new ban would have extended to private businesses.

Woods-Crawford said going smoke free is about the rights of everyone.

"It may be their right to smoke it is their right and freedom, but it's also the right for all of us who want clean air who want to clean indoor air and public air. There's no price on it."

Help is still available if you are looking to stop smoking for good.

Just log onto the Smoke Free Mobile County's website.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has some useful information.