Lakeland HealthCare is offering Smoke-Free Life, a series of free presentations and support sessions to help people quit smoking.
The next hour-long presentation will be held Tuesday, Feb. 22 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph. Trina Kerns, CNP, Family Physicians of St. Joseph, will explore the health risks of smoking, the benefits of quitting, the reasons why it is so difficult to quit and available support resources, including medications.
Working in concert with the monthly Smoke-Free Life presentations are half-hour support sessions, held weekly on Tuesdays in St. Joseph and Niles. These meetings address the behavioral aspects of quitting and provide additional tools to help participants stay quit, including motivational handouts and peer support. The support sessions are ongoing, and participants can attend them at any time and for any length of time. Upcoming times and locations of the meetings are as follows (please note that times and locations alternate monthly):
• Tuesdays, Feb. 15 and 22 — noon to 12:30 p.m., Lakeland Community Hospital, Niles, and 6 to 6:30 p.m., Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph
• Tuesdays, March 1, 8, 15 and 22 — noon to 12:30 p.m., Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph, 6 to 6:30 p.m., Lakeland Community Hospital, Niles
Visit www.lakelandhealth.org/smokefree or call (269) 556-2808 or (866) 260-7544 for more information or to register for any of the Smoke-Free Life sessions.