Health and Wellness Center provides smoking relief

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Eric Jones
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Health and Wellness Center here, an organization that provides wellness counseling through fitness and health education, is now offering Laughlin members an innovative program that takes a comprehensive approach in helping them kick their tobacco habit. 

"The program, based around providing everything a person needs to quit, has been instrumental to Laughlin achieving the lowest smoking rate in Air Education and Training Command," said Grisel Sanchez, the HAWC's health education program manager. "The workforce here is at a mere 14.7 percent, including civilians, down from 21 percent in just a year and a half." 

The HAWC's resources are available to everyone and provide four distinct avenues through which smoking cessation can be accomplished. 

These avenues are group classes, one-on-one sessions, a computer based course and www.ucanquit2.org, an official Department of Defense website. 

In addition to individual sessions helping members break the habit, group classes are also available and can be custom tailored to meet the needs of each group. 

Sanchez will travel to base units that request a group class be held for their organization. Regardless of the format, group classes or one-on-one sessions, she will address the needs of each individual. 

"Quitting is not hard, keeping off of it is hard," she said. "It is about the smoker's triangle. Physical, physiological, and behavioral needs have to be met to quit for good. Physical needs can be something that satisfies the oral fixation, like gum or chewing on a straw. Physiological needs can be met with nicotine gums or patches, and behavioral needs can be changing associations like drinking water as soon as you wake up instead of a smoke." 

Sanchez also brings in guest speakers, usually experts in the field of health and wellness to talk about the benefits and psychological underpinnings of quitting. Some of the experts might even show what a healthy lung looks like compared to a smoker's.

Additionally, all active-duty members get smoking cessations aids, like nicotine patches and gum, free of charge and are available for pick up directly from the HAWC.
 
While the HAWC is the place to go to kick the tobacco habit, they are also responsible for running a variety of other programs that enhance the health and wellness of Laughlin members. 

Primarily, the HAWC supports the Air Force fitness program by training Unit Fitness Program Managers and Unit Physical Training Leaders and by providing fitness and body composition classes and counseling. 

The HAWC also provides healthy cooking demonstrations, cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention, stress management, substance abuse prevention and a fully stocked information center, among many other health education capabilities. 

Sanchez can be reached by contacting the HAWC at (830) 298-6464.