(Clarksburg, WV) Are you a Veteran needing a little extra encouragement to stop smoking, vaping, or rubbing tobacco? Multiple Veterans have found success with the Tobacco Use Coaching class at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. Quitting tobacco is not always easy, but it can be the single most important thing you can do to improve health and protect the health of loved ones.
Air Force/Army Veteran Mr. Roger Castle started smoking while in basic training, and he continued smoking for 49 years, until he saw his primary care provider in 2024. During the appointment, after Mr. Castle expressed his desire to stop smoking, the provider recommended Tobacco Use Coaching as part of the VA Whole Health initiative. Mr. Castle stated, “I’ve been to groups before and they use scare tactics, quit cold turkey, but this was a gradual process with goals each week to help you cut down and eventually quit.”
For Mr. Castle, it was a 10-month process from the time he started until his last cigarette he put out, as he enthusiastically recalled, on February 10, 2025, at 8:18p.m. He noted some Veterans were able to stop in just a few weeks. Mr. Castle still goes to the group to encourage others and share his success story, now being tobacco free for nearly five months. “I can’t stress enough how positive the atmosphere is in the group, there’s no big push, but there is encouragement.”
Protect yourself and those around you. Start your tobacco-free journey today with tobacco use coaching and the tobacco use treatment group. See any clerk throughout the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center or Community Based Outpatient Clinics to get started. The tobacco use treatment group meets on Tuesdays from 10:30a.m. to 11:30a.m. in Room 4B39 or virtually. Individual coaching is available by calling (304)904-9256. For more information and resources, visit www.prevention.va.gov/Healthy_Living/Be_Tobacco_Free.asp
