Millions of people try quitting tobacco each year but research shows relapse is common, and it can take as many as six times to successfully quit. The Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center, a research facility funded by TSET and Stephenson Cancer Center, is developing an tobacco cessation app called “Smart” to help tobacco-users quit. Clinical trials for the app are currently ongoing in Oklahoma, learn more here.
This innovative tool uses an algorithm to predict when tobacco users most vulnerable to relapse throughout the day and sends personal notifications. Apps like this one can help reducing the number of smokers and help make tobacco cessation efforts more effective.
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Why not commemorate the beginning of the decade with a health-conscious resolution like helping you or a loved one quit tobacco? Kicking tobacco is not only beneficial for one's health but it also benefits nearby family and friends since they are not exposing themselves to secondhand smoke. Just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can cause heart damage similar to that of an everyday smoker.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), provides free resources to Oklahomans who are thinking about quitting tobacco or currently quitting tobacco. Resources are also available to former tobacco users wanting to stay tobacco-free and those who want to support loved ones, patients or employees.
If you or a loved one are struggling with a tobacco addiction, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is here to help with free cessation resources and no judgement. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or click here to receive immediate help and take the first step to living tobacco-free.
Getting more physicians to rural areas of Oklahoma is key to increasing access to care and preventative screenings. Through a TSET grant with the Physician Manpower Training Commission (PMTC), doctors who participate in this program can receive up to $160,000 in medical school loan repayment for serving up to four years in an underserved area.
According to an analysis conducted by PMTC, each primary care physician in rural Oklahoma will generate an estimated 23 full-time jobs that contribute about $1.5 million each year to the local economy. To date, more than 260,000 patient visits have been conducted by physicians participating in the program. In addition, participating physicians have referred more than 9,200 patients to the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline.
The video posted by the PMTC highlights the struggles that rural medical facilities face in order to keep their doors open. To watch the video click here.
It can be difficult to stay active through the busy holiday season. Shape Your Future, a program of TSET, has ideas on healthy activities to do during the winter seasons. In order to stay healthy, adults need 30 minutes of physical activities every day and kids need 60 minutes per day.
Unhealthy food choices and sedentary lifestyles are the main contributors to obesity. To combat unhealthy eating habits, Shape Your Future provides recipes for healthy holiday dishes like sweet potato pie or 5-ingredient casserole that's easy to make and also nutritious.
It is important that children remain active and healthy as childhood obesity increases the likelihood of an individual being obese as an adult. Overweight and obese children are at a higher risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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