Tracey Kunkin first began smoking because she thought it was cool. However, five years later, she changed her mind.
"I tried the patch, and the gum," said Kunkin, noting jokingly that this was before the gum came in different flavors.
Kunkin, now a non-smoker and one of the two smoking cessation counselors at North Hudson Community Action Corporation, located at 5301 Broadway in West New York, quit with the help of therapy, well before New Jersey started its statewide Quitnet program.
North Hudson Community Action Corporation began its own smoking cessation program in July 2001 as the official quit center in Hudson County.
Quit centers have been opened across New Jersey as part of the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services’ Quitnet program.
The smoking cessation program is part of the NHCAC Mental Health and Addiction Services Department and is funded with money from the Department of Health and Human Services Master Settlement Agreement.
Patients still pay for the program, and most major insurance companies will cover it, but NHCAC has a sliding price scale for residents who are not insured. The scale is based on the person’s income.
North Hudson Community Action Corporation is a not-for-profit organization funded mostly with state and federal grant money. NHCAC also gets funding from corporate and private sponsors.
The program focuses around therapy sessions, which could be either individual or group sessions. The program provides one hour a week of therapy and does offer some nicotine replacement products at the patients’ request.
"Many people have tried to quit on their own before and it hasn’t worked," said Kunkin. "That is when the therapy really comes in handy. You can buy the patch in the supermarket, but just the patch isn’t cutting it."
The therapy sessions provide patients with alternatives to smoking and a heads up on what comes next on their road to recovery.
"The first few weeks without a cigarette, you are going through withdrawal," said Kunkin. "With the therapy, we give them ways to deal with that. If it is needing something in their hands, we find something else they can do with their hands."
Kunkin said that more people are leaning toward a healthier lifestyle.
"Many people say that they need cigarettes to relax," said Kunkin. "What they don’t realize is that cigarettes are a stimulant. It is actually taking the opposite effect on them."
Kunkin added, "By quitting, people will be healthier all around. Once they realize that, a whole new world opens up for them. Nowadays, people really want to be healthy.""
While Kunkin admits that she started smoking because she thought it was cool, Kunkin doesn’t think that kids today are as easily fooled into smoking.
"When I was younger, everybody wanted to smoke," she said. "We thought it made us more mature and cool. Kids now already know smoking is bad and they don’t want to do it."
Kunkin visits schools as part of the program.
No set length
In the program, there is no limit on the amount of therapy each patient can receive.
"It lasts until the person feels confident that they are not going to pick up another cigarette," said Kunkin.
Both counselors at NHCAC were trained by the Department of Health and Human Services and certified by the state.
The program offers evening, daytime and Saturday hours. Services are also provided at NHCAC’s Jersey City Center located at 324 Palisade Ave. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. To make an appointment or for more information, call866-9320 ext. 126 in West New York and 459-8889 in Jersey City.