Quit Smoking: Could Where You Live Help You Kick The Habit?

It's not easy to quit smoking. Over 20 percent of Americans still smoke, and nearly 75 percent of smokers are considered highly dependent on nicotine. Kicking the habit for good requires a clear action plan and support from family and friends.

But where you live may also play a role in how easy or difficult it is to quit. The American Lung Association examined access to tobacco cessation treatments in each state to determine how "quit-friendly" each state is in its new report, "Helping Smokers Quit: Tobacco Cessation Coverage 2011."

Click through the slideshow to see the top and bottom five, then check out the full report for the entire list.

Comments

[local21]

07:50 AM on 12/17/2011

I was up to 2 1/2 packs a day when I quit smoking a little over 11 years ago. With a pack of smokes going for $8 I figure I saved over $7,000 in 2011 alone.

What would you do with 7 grand in your pocket ?

[missp83]

12:42 PM on 12/16/2011

Most, if not all, smokers I know had at least 1 parent that smoked. The best way to keep your child from smoking is to not be a smoker yourself. I know parents try to say it's okay for them to smoke because they don't do it around their kids but you're setting your child up to be a future smoker as well. So technically, you are lowering their life expectancy by smoking (smokers on average die 15 years earlier than non-smokers). Of course it's not just from lung cancer, smoking increases heart attack, cancer, and stroke risks, which are the leading causes of death in the US.

[vikki2832]

02:03 PM on 12/16/2011

I agree and disagree, my dad smoked and I hated it so very much, so I never smoked...UNTIL I had a friend who told me to take a drag. Now, I argued, and told him, no...I won't, I had never argued with him like that, before, until then....surprising myself....so I took a drag....PS I was hooked, and he didn't tell me to inhale, I didn't know that....sooooo I asked someone to show me , they were hesitant...but did. The person who showed isn't around anymore, but, I don't smoke anymore, I yell more, and things, but, stopped finally....and I do miss it....if it wasn't the fact that I would keep putting this weight on, I wouldn't care if I stopped as long as I can eat..that isn't the case either.. either sometimes you die from smoking or sometimes you die from being overweight...it is all in the game

[frankiejrjr]

12:00 PM on 12/16/2011

I quit 4 years ago with the help of chantix i smoked for 34 years one thing i learned is that it is not just the nicotine in the cigarettes that are addictive it is how the manufactures manipulate chemicals they treat them with to hijack receptors in the brain to make you think you even have to have them more.Only regret in my life is smoking

[ugotabkidnme]

10:59 AM on 12/16/2011

I stopped smoking for periods in my life, but never quit, I started smoking very young with neighborhood kids stealing cigarettes from our parents. I have not yet quit the nicotine addiction but have quit smoking cigarettes with the electronic vapor device. Every smoker in our family has given up cigarettes and have switched to different electronic 'cigarettes." There's no offensive smoke, it is healthier and the savings are substantial. The plan is to continue to reduce the strength of nicotine until the addiction is checked, I was smoking nearly two packages of cigarettes a day. Since the day I purchased the vapor device I have not smoked a cigarette neither have my sons and relatives who have made the switch. It is not the perfect solution, but it is better than smoking cigarettes.

[slloyd414]

10:36 AM on 12/16/2011

It's a mater of whether or not one truly wants to quit. I smoked for many years, but I quit cold turkey 6 1/2 years ago while living with a smoker. Now, I can't stand the smell of them.

[vikki2832]

02:08 PM on 12/16/2011

Good for you! Wish I felt like that...I stopped 2 years, but still miss it...:(

[slloyd414]

09:00 PM on 12/27/2011

I hope that urge goes away for you. I'm thankful I don't miss it.

[baileysno1lala]

10:14 AM on 12/16/2011

I had to chuckle when I scrolled through the list....I struggled for years trying to quit (I smoked for 35 years) and then I got a severe case of bronchitis....that did it...I quit on 11/23/09 and I was living in Maryland at the time! If you really WANT to quit, you will and you can. It is the single most important you can do for yourself and your family. Had I read this list prior to quitting, it would have been used as another reason why I counldn't! I am ashamed to admit that!

[vikki2832]

02:10 PM on 12/16/2011

I did too, I quit because I got what you got, so I quit, but, I miss it.....I only wished I never listened to that boy who told me to try it...in the first place....and yes, like many people say, I am doing it for my kids...that is the truth..., you want to stay around...to be with them a long time...:).

[fergiesmom2]

09:36 AM on 12/16/2011

I live in Colorado. I quit by myself. It was my plan, it was ME who carried it out, who kept determined after a very long time of struggling with this filthy addiction. It is an addiction whether anyone believes that or not. It all depends on the plan each person makes for themselves because each person has to find their own way to stop. But, mostly it is WANTING to stop. REALLY wanting to stop. Being stronger than the urge to smoke.... Encouraging yourself through the rough times....picking up something that can replace that filthy addiction...I took up working out. I still work out. I don't smoke anymore, and I never will again. I say it all depends on what a person tells themself about stopping and determination. It can be done. Thousands of people have done it.

[baileysno1lala]

10:15 AM on 12/16/2011

I agree with you 100%! Everything you said is true....you must really WANT it...Good for you and your success!!

[rkeeeballs]

09:05 AM on 12/16/2011

Quit 14 months ago after 35 years of smoking.....crazy addiction....it's not just in your head..it's a very real chemical physical hook that controls your mood ,appetite, and sleep among others.. After 14 months I still get the urge..but I will never ever ever go back...it's down right evil !

[pullmafingerquik]

07:34 AM on 12/16/2011

I smoked for 28 years! I quit cold turkey on April Fools day,no less,6 and a half years ago. I stopped drinking coffee and beer at the same time. I figured they go hand in hand. I was up to 3 packs a day! I never had another craving,never had a relapse and never looked back! It is all in your mind. After 4 years,I started drinking coffee again,no problem! And I will now have an occassional beer,also no problem! It is all in your mind. Anyone can quit,if you put your mind to it! I am living proof.

[cosmobindi2]

07:23 AM on 12/16/2011

I tried off and on for many years, and finally one day the patch really made me stop smoking. I had to replace it with something else like treadmill and riding my bike. I would also visualize my lungs were getting cleaning. I know its one of the hardest things you will ever do, but let me tell you the pay off is finally tasting food flavors once again. Not to mention feeling so much better. It has been 17 years, I don't miss it a bit. Good Luck to everyone trying to kick the habit.

[vikki2832]

02:13 PM on 12/16/2011

It was my downfall to taste the food, again forgetting how good it can taste, since I was 18...Now to try to get rid of this weight which, isn't healthy....

[Problemi con sesso in co]

08:52 AM on 12/15/2011

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[50PlusSam]

08:08 AM on 12/15/2011

I still miss a cigarette after coffee, and when cattle and spending time in the pub with the company over a glass of beer after a few years of quitting smoking.
http://www.lifestyle-after50.com

[roudy]

08:01 PM on 12/14/2011

slideshow=instability to write a cohesive article.

[taqo]

04:14 PM on 12/14/2011

i thought this article was going to go another direction, i.e. the need to physical move into a new living situation due to trace smoking elements that are present within the furniture environment.

does that hold any weight - for those of you who have successfully quit?

[fergiesmom2]

09:41 AM on 12/16/2011

Not to me, however, when I am out and about, when a smoker passes me in a store or on the sidewalk, I SMELL them. I KNOW they smoke. Yikes, it's a little horrifying to realize that as a smoker, that is the smell that comes from us. Thank God I stopped--It really doesn stink.....
I find it embarassing--when you smoke, you don't know HOW you smell. Nasty..

[vikki2832]

02:20 PM on 12/16/2011

I don't know about you, but, I just would be happy to find there aren't any bedbugs nesting in a new apt...like in the carpet and electrical features...I would take all the smoke it had...you can open windows, paint and if I were you, buy new carpeting in case the smoke seeped in there, or worst the Bedbugs...disgusting....

[empress trudy]

02:39 PM on 12/14/2011

They should be arrested and chained to a gurney for a month. Then fined $100,000

[kvanness]

02:53 PM on 12/14/2011

FTW?!? O.o

[empress trudy]

04:39 PM on 12/14/2011

It's the Bloomberg Protocol.

[vikki2832]

02:16 PM on 12/16/2011

Lets not get carried away! They are not the enemies....you never know maybe in another life you will be a smoker....LOL

[empress trudy]

03:58 PM on 12/16/2011

I want to say that the Bloombergs of the world should just drop the hammer and flat out criminalize smoking already. They want to. Instead of charging $15/pack or whatever, just write each smoker a $5,000 ticket for each cigarette and put them in jail for 30 days.

I will live to see the day where cigarettes are a crime and cocaine is legal. I am sure of it.