Durham County Health Department officials hope more smokers will sign up for classes to help them stop smoking, as a new ordinance that puts more outdoor areas off limits to tobacco use goes into effect this summer. Starting Aug. 1, outdoor smoking will be prohibited on city and county grounds, including city and county parks and trails, bus stops, the Durham train station, city and county sidewalks and any public schools and hospitals.
The new restrictions make this a particularly good time to kick the cigarette habit, according to Joanie Ross, a health education specialist with the Durham County Health Department. Ross, who teaches classes on how to quit, struggled with smoking for years before she finally gave it up for good. “I felt like I was in prison with it,” Ross, 60, said. “I taught aerobics for 24 years, and I couldn’t wait to light up a cigarette after class.
It was such a contradiction, and it just became too much. And I knew I had to quit, and so I did.” She didn’t succeed the first time, but eventually won the victory over tobacco about 15 years ago. “There are still times when I would like to have a cigarette, and I just kind of laugh to myself and say it’s ridiculous to even think that,” she said. The next four-week session of classes, called Fresh Start, begins July 12. They’re held one hour a week, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 2. Read more: The Herald-Sun - Health officials promote smoking cessation classes as new tobacco rules begin
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