New N-O-T on Tobacco Web Site for Teens

The American Lung Association in Virginia is pleased to announce a new and exciting website for teens – http://www.vanot.org/. This is a great resource where teens can begin to find out how, and why, they should stay away from cigarettes. By exploring some of the posted hard facts and other useful links, young people are exposed to an abundance of valuable information. In addition to this, teens can find out what the Not On Tobacco program is all about and where it is being offered throughout the state. Check it out today!

New iPhone Application for Smoking Cessation

Smokers who use Apple iPhones now have an application available to help them quit smoking, the GW Hatchet reported May 11.

Lorien Abroms, an assistant professor at George Washington University (GW), created "My QuitLine" - a free application for the iPhone that facilitates instant messages and phone calls between users and trained smoking-cessation counselors from the National Cancer Institute Quitline.

Using the application can double a person's chance of quitting smoking, Abroms said.

Abroms developed the application in collaboration with the GW School of Public Health and Health Services and the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC).

In 2008, the Public Health Service listed the application as an effective tool to help smokers stop quit in its "Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence," guidelines.

How adolescents experience smoking cessation

A study was conducted to follow youth experiences during smoking cessation attempts. Fifteen adolescent smokers were followed twice a month for three months with six semi-structured interviews. The study found that only emotionally compelling (i.e. guilt and fear) and inescapable (i.e. immediate concerns, rather than long-term effects of smoking) quit reasons were truly motivating. The study also suggests that the quitting experience for teens is physically uncomfortable, emotionally distressful, and socially isolating. To read the abstract click here. The study was published in the May issue of Qualitative Health Research.