The Smokers' Helpline in Newfoundland and
Labrador is a provincial service, solely managed and operated by the
Newfoundland and
Labrador Lung Association, which is a registered charity and
not-for-profit organization. The helpline is a completely free of
charge service available to anyone in the province.
The Smokers' Helpline has been endorsed by
the Department of Health and Community Services and the Alliance
for the Control of Tobacco (ACT) since it was first established
in December 1999. The Smokers' Helpline offers the following
services:
Counseling
Helpline staff offer motivational,
interventional and group counseling, and follow-up support.
Referral
Services
Clients are referred to appropriate
services in their own communities including smoking cessation
groups, mental health crisis line, Alcoholics Anonymous, physicians,
and hospitals.
Networking
Service
The Smokers' Helpline is also used as a
means of communication for Newfoundland and Labrador's tobacco
network (Department of Health and Community Services, ACT,
facilitators, and any other group in the community working towards
tobacco reduction).
Professional
Development Service
Community partners use the line for
information purposes and to ask questions of trained smoking
cessation counselors. In addition, they are informed about
professional development training workshops such as our facilitator
training workshops and presentations.
Resource
Centre
The Smokers' Helpline is also used as a
conduit to the resource centre. Health professionals and the general
public call the helpline to request posters, stickers, pamphlets,
booklets, Facilitator's Guides and general information concerning
tobacco use and reduction.
There are currently six smoking cessation counselors who staff the
Helpline Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, there is 24-hour message receiving
service for after hours and weekends.
All counselors have received extensive
training provided by facilitators from the Montreal Thoracic
Hospital who were among the first to develop and implement a
helpline in Canada. Aside from smoking cessation training, all
counselors are health professionals with education and training in
counseling such as social work, psychology and nursing.
Additionally, counselors have suicide intervention training and
receive other relevant professional development on a monthly basis.
Call the Smokers' Helpline at
1-800-363-5864 or visit the website at www.smokershelpline.net.
The
Lung Association was first established in Newfoundland and Labrador
in 1944 to combat tuberculosis, but is now concerned with all
respiratory illnesses and diseases. One of its main health
initiatives is tobacco reduction, a focus of its programs and
services since the mid-1960s.
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