Great American Smokeout Lights Up at St. Charles Hospital

Last Thursday was the American Cancer Society's 35th Great American Smokeout and took advantage of the national day of awareness to give out free information and let people know about the hospital's community resources that are available to help them quit smoking.

There was a smokerlyzer on hand for people to blow into. It works similar to the more familiar breatherlyzer tester used by police to detect alcohol content except this device measures the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood stream in parts per million or ppm.

Deborah Rippel, a public health educator with the Suffolk County Department of Health was on hand to help anyone who wanted to test themselves with the smokerlyzer.

The literature on hand explained that carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas that inhibits the ability of your blood to carry oxygen. Smokers will usually have a much higher level of carbon monoxide than non-smokers.

"It's the same poisonous gas in car exhaust that people use to commit suicide," said Rippel.

She said that a two-pack a day smoker has a carbon monoxide level in his blood of about 25 – 30 ppm.

"A non-smoker would be in a coma," she said.

People lined up to get tested.

Claudio L'Adames was in the hospital to see the dentist but stopped to get his carbon monoxide levels tested in the smokerlyzer. He said he was curious about quitting smoking and how to go about it.

"I want to see what else I can do to help quit," he said. "See what other types of tools there are."

Among the tables of information lining either side of the main entrance to the hospital was information about nutrition including $3 "cold turkey" sandwiches to highlight ways to keep the pounds off when quitting.

"People are concerned about gaining weight when they quit," said Marilyn Fabbricate, a hospital spokesperson.

Fabbricate explained that the hospital campus has been completely smoke free since January 1. Not just inside the building but anywhere on hospital grounds.

"Most hospitals have gone and will go that route," she said.

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) asked local hospitals to take on seven different initiatives and smoking cessation was one of them. St. Charles even has a full time nurse on staff as a dedicated smoking cessation specialist. When a smoker stays in the hospital for any length of time she offers them a number of products to help them curb their cravings and counseling if they want it.

According to the American Cancer Society website, in 1971 a school guidance counselor in California named Arthur P. Mullaney founded the first smokeout asking people to quit smoking for one day and donate the money they saved to a scholarship fund for high school students. In 1977 the Cancer Society took the event national.