Honoring Moms, Protecting Health: Creating Smoke-Free Memories
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 8, 2024) — This Mother’s Day, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is encouraging Oklahoma mothers to take a step toward a healthier life for themselves and their families by using FREE services offered by the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline.
About 14.6% of Oklahoma women smoke, placing them at high risk of smoking-related health issues like infertility, lung cancer, stroke, diabetes and heart disease.
Candace Hammontree of Glenpool, Oklahoma was motivated to quit tobacco to be a healthy role model for her family. Thanks to the Helpline, she quit alongside her husband, Chase, who also successfully quit with the Helpline.
“You only get to enjoy your children’s childhood once, and smoking cigarettes was standing in the way of that,” Candace said. “We wanted to make sure that our children grow up healthy. My personal goal was for my daughter to never remember her parents as cigarette smokers — and she doesn’t.”
Smoking during pregnancy can cause a baby to be born too early or to have low birth weight – making it more likely the baby will be sick or experience a longer hospital stay. Infants and young children, whose lungs have not fully developed, are particularly vulnerable to dangerous secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ear infections, asthma attacks, bronchitis and pneumonia.
In addition, children of parents who smoke are twice as likely to become smokers themselves, and many mothers say they don't want to pass tobacco addiction to their children.
To help mothers, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline offers registrants personalized quit plans that include text and email support, live online group sessions, and free patches, gum or lozenges.
“[Since quitting tobacco], I’ve enjoyed hiking, spending time outside and even taking the kids to the splash pad,” Candace said. “When you’re a cigarette smoker, you can’t do that. You’re huffing and puffing. You’re coughing your head off.”
This Mother’s Day, May 12, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is offering all mothers tips on how to protect their children and families from the dangers of smoke, secondhand smoke and secondhand vape:
• Protect your child from secondhand smoke and vape by avoiding places that allow tobacco use.
• Maintain a tobacco-free home and vehicle.
• Educate your children about the dangers of smoking and tobacco use at an early age. Get age-specific conversation starters and talking points at StopsWithMe.com.
• Ask your child about their friends’ attitudes towards tobacco. Discuss peer pressure and how to deal with it.
Call 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669), text READY to 34191 or visit OKhelpline.com to explore all the free services and resources available. Connect with the Helpline through social media by liking the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline on Facebook or following @OKhelpline on Instagram.
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The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is a free service for Oklahomans wanting to help themselves, loved ones, patients or employees live tobacco free. Funding is primarily provided by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline has had more than half a million registrations since 2003 and has been ranked among the top quitlines for reaching tobacco users seeking treatment for the last 10 years by the North American Quitline Consortium.
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, go to Oklahoma.gov/TSET.
TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health