Quitting Smoking

Описание: [Anchor Lead]

How are your New Year's resolutions coming along? Quitting smoking is one of the most frequently made resolutions each year. Smoking cessation clinics are packed with people determined to kick the habit this year.

[Pkg]

Mr. Jang Young-gu has smoked cigarettes for the past 52 years. He was a heavy smoker who had smoked one pack a day. But in the new year he decided to quit smoking for his health and went to a public health clinic to enroll in its smoke cessation program. He wanted systematic help to drop his smoking habit.

[Soundbite] Jang Young-gu(Trying to Quit Smoking) : "A friend who used to smoke 2 packs a day said he stopped smoking. That shocked me. If he can do it, I can do it, too."

As more smokers attempt to stop smoking in the new year, the number of visitors to the smoking cessation programs at public health clinics has spiked markedly. The average number of visitors per day more than doubled. Doctors survey their amounts of smoking, lung capacities, and physical conditions before giving them customized prescriptions. These programs provide continuous support and advice and operate systematic management programs through mobile clinics and such. That is why the programs show a higher success rate than when individuals attempt to quit smoking on their own. In fact, last year's smoking cessation success rate reached 47%.

[Soundbite] Lee Do-gyeong(Smoking Cessation Counselor) : "It's hard to stop smoking because of the nicotine in cigarettes is addictive. We try to ease the withdrawal symptoms by giving them nicotine patches without all the harmful substances in cigarettes."

As of last November, roughly 404,000 people participated in the smoking cessation programs provided at public health clinics nationwide.