The Muskegon Community Health Project Tobacco Treatment Programs brochure, which can be found at www.mchp.org, will provide a number of available programs locally, out of county and free telephone and online cessation support that will assist a smoker in quitting.

Quitting smoking is the first step a smoker can take to improve their quality of life. After one day of quitting your risk of a heart attack starts to go down, after two days your senses of taste and smell begin to return to normal and after two weeks your lungs are working 30% better than before you quit. Smoking only causes diseases and cancers, so quitting smoking will not only improve your quality of life but help you save money and will create a healthy smoke free environment for your family and those around you.

Looking back at the county health rankings for the year 2012 Muskegon County ranked 82nd out of 82 Michigan counties in health behavior’s, with adult smoking rates at 26% compared to 21% for the state of MI and 14% for the national benchmark. The County Health Rankings, produced by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, helps counties understand what improvements can foster healthier places to live. These results promoted 1 in 21’s ambitious goal to make Muskegon County the healthiest county in Michigan by 2021!

The Michigan’s Smoke Free Air Law Public Act 188 and The Muskegon County Clean Indoor Air Regulation prohibition of smoking in public and private worksites and public places has not only positively impacted a non-smokers life but can make it easier for smokers to quit. There’s no more cigarette smoke or smoking taking place in public places helping reduce the cravings and triggers to smoke.

According to the County Health Ranking, adult smoking rates in Muskegon County are moving in the right direction. In the past 3 years adult smoking has decreased by a total of 5%. In America, fewer than 21% of Americans were current cigarette smokers, and of those smokers more than half wanted to quit, according to a 2008 national survey.