Ford County Public Health Department supports, educates and instructs Ford County residents on how they can receive counseling and support, and free nicotine replacement products through the Illinois Tobacco Quitline.  Additionally, Ford County Public Health Department monitors compliance of the Smoke-Free Illinois Act.

Illinois Tobacco Quitline

The Illinois Tobacco Quitline is a free telephonic or phone resource for individuals wanting to quit tobacco or tobacco-related products.

The Quitline’s counselors — nurses, respiratory therapists, and tobacco-cessation specialists — all have at least 25 years of medical experience and attend accredited, renowned nicotine dependence training programs to become certified in tobacco-cessation therapies.

They also are qualified to offer guidance in lung health and disease-related comorbidities, in addition to tobacco cessation. Because many are formers smokers, too, they know the challenges it takes to quit for good.

Staff can offer free advice, addicition help, personalized quit plan, cravings support, nicotene replacement products, follow up, and more. For more information, please call 1-866-QUIT-YES (1-866-784-8937), or visit: https://quityes.org/index.php

Smoke-Free Illinois Act

The Smoke-free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces, including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, educational institutions, schools, commercial establishments, enclosed shopping centers and retail stores, restaurants, bars, private clubs and gaming facilities.

Illinois has taken this important step to protect its residents, workers and visitors from the harmful and hazardous effects of secondhand smoke. (Effective January 1, 2008)

For more information, please visit: http://www.smoke-free.illinois.gov/.

To view the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, visit: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2893&ChapterID=35

For more information about the Quitline or the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, please contact Ford County Public Health Department at (217) 379-9281.

Seth Russell, Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities Program Coordinator

Resources

• American Lung Association is committed to ending the death and disease caused by tobacco use. Information about tobacco regulation, tobacco taxes, cessation, and smoke-free environments, along with other information, is available on their website.
• Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights is dedicated to taking on the tobacco industry at all levels of government, protecting nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, and preventing tobacco addiction among youth. ANR pursues an action-oriented program of policy and legislation.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tips from Former Smokers
• American Cancer Society's How to Quit Smoking or Smokeless Tobacco
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Youth Tobacco Prevention Campaign The Real Cost
• Smokefree.gov - Tools and tips; texting and reminders for women, teens, vets, and smokers over age 60, in English and Spanish.
• E-cigarettes and Youth: What Parents Need to Know
• Truth Initiative: Inspiring Tobacco Free Lives