Stop Smoking. Start Changing.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Every year, smoking kills approximately 480,000 people and costs the nation more than $300 billion a year, including more than $225 billion in direct medical care and more than $156 billion in lost productivity, imposing a heavy economic burden on employers, health plans, and federal, state, and local governments. Quitting smoking considerably reduces health risks. Smoking cessation improves well-being, including higher quality of life and improved health status, and reduces the risk of premature death.

Effective Smoking Cessation Treatments are available:

• Smoking cessation medications approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and behavioral counseling are cost-effective cessation strategies. FDA-approved cessation medications and behavioral counseling increase the likelihood of successfully quitting smoking, particularly when used in combinations.
• Using combinations of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) can further increase the likelihood of quitting. Specifically, combining short-acting (e.g., nicotine gum or the nicotine lozenge) and long-acting (the nicotine patch) forms of NRT increases smoking cessation compared with using single forms of NRT.
• Proactive quitline counseling (counseling delivered through multiple outbound calls), when provided alone or in combination with cessation medications, increases smoking cessation. Tobacco quitlines are an effective population-based approach to motivate quit attempts and increase smoking cessation. Publicly supported quitlines are available in all states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico and can be accessed anywhere in the United States by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
• Short text message services about cessation are independently effective in increasing smoking cessation, particularly if they are interactive or tailored to individual text responses.
• Web or Internet-based interventions increase smoking cessation and can be more effective when they contain behavior change techniques and interactive components.

The 2008 Public Health Service (PHS) Clinical Practice Guideline on Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence concluded that:

• Tobacco dependence is a chronic disease.  Most adults who smoke make multiple quit attempts before succeeding. Many adults who smoke require repeated cessation interventions.
• Effective cessation treatments include individual, group, and telephone counseling and seven FDA-approved medications.
• Even brief cessation advice and counseling by health care providers is effective and should be offered to every patient.
• The effectiveness of cessation counseling increases with the intensity of the counseling, including the length and number of counseling sessions.
• The seven FDA-approved medications include five forms of NRT: the patch, gum, inhaler, nasal spray, and lozenge; as well as two non-NRT medications, bupropion SR (brand name Zyban®), and varenicline (brand name Chantix®).
• Three forms of NRT—the patch, gum, and the lozenge—are available without a prescription from a health care provider. The other two forms of NRT (the inhaler and the nasal spray), as well as the two non-NRT medications, are available by prescription only. The patch is available both by prescription and over the counter.
• Quit rates increase when clinicians and health care providers consistently identify and treat patient tobacco use.

Treatment Schedule:

To give you the best chance of success, we need to get to know you and find out why you use tobacco — whether it’s to manage stress, because of physical dependence, or a host of other reasons. We’ll also ask about what’s prompted you to make a change; perhaps it’s your health, finances, or family. That’s why your first appointment includes meeting with a doctor or our Counselor. Before you leave your first appointment, you and your doctor will set a treatment plan that will likely include a combination of medication and counseling. You may also choose a Quit Day — a date when you want to be tobacco-free. You’ll have follow-up appointments before and after your Quit Day.

Our Smoking Cessation Program includes 1-2 individual sessions and 8-12 group sessions designed to help people struggling with addiction to smoking. Smokers who participate in cessation programs are more likely to successfully quit smoking than those who attempt quitting on their own.

Sessions:
Initial Session: In person session with a Smoking Cessation Counselor (30- 45 minutes).

There is a total of 8 sessions that take place one time per week, with participants having the option to meet either remotely via Zoom video conference or in person.

Sessions will be one per week

Programs will start every 4 weeks.

Location: NeuroPsych Wellness Center, 3930 Pender Drive, Suite 350, Fairfax

Call 703-865-8686 for more information or to register for an upcoming session.