National Smoking Cessation Campaign Targets Firefighters

July 6, 2010 - The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, a national program dedicated to preventing heart disease among firefighter and EMS personnel, recently launched their “Put It Out” campaign as an extension of combating the leading cause of death among firefighters: heart attack. NVFC recognizes the importance of smoking cessation in leading a “heart-healthy” lifestyle and developed the Put It Out campaign to “help first responders quit smoking and stay quit.” The Put it Out campaign first began in 2009 as a pilot program in North Carolina and has since developed into a comprehensive smoking cessation program.

The main platform for this smoking cessation program is their Put It Out website where firefighters and their families, departments, or state associations can find resources to help first responders quit smoking and maintain a smoke-free lifestyle. Firefighters gain access to a variety of different resources after they register. These include smoking statistics, information on heart-health, health presentations, and guides showing how to utilize employee healthcare benefits for smoking cessation services. In addition, departments can find resources to motivate and communicate with other department members and community leaders, state associations can learn how to better publicize the program in their community, and family members can find information on how to support their firefighter as they attempt to live a smoke-free lifestyle.

A United States Fire Administration (USFA) supported NVFC study recently reported that 68% of firefighters believe that first responders lived shorter lives compared to the general population. The Put It Out Campaign is a major step in decreasing the ill-health effects of smoking and extending the lifespan of this population, especially in relation to heart disease.

For more information please visit: http://www.healthy-firefighter.org/putitout/

National Working Group for ACTTION

Partnership for Prevention

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