Allegra Wiborg, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   Occasionally participants in our tobacco cessation program will tell me they don’t want to use the patch or nicotine gum to quit tobacco. Some have pretty strong feelings about it, too: “If I’m quitting nicotine—why would I want to add it to my body?! No thanks.” I can see where these participants are coming from. Isn’t that like pouring gasoline on the fire? I too was confused about how nicotine replacement therapy worked until I be... [More]

Allegra Wiborg, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   I may be biased, but I think Quit Coaches are an elite crew. We’re creative, caring, good question-askers and good listeners. We are able to respond to changing situations as they unfold in every call. Quitting smoking is a challenge. Figuring out how to help people quit smoking is a challenge, too. Quit Coaches meet this challenge. Not only are we naturally great people (please see first paragraph), we’re trained in the most up-to-d... [More]

Allegra Wiborg, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   Today I spoke with a participant who described her past quit attempts as a string of failures. This is something I hear a lot in my job. “My past quits were a waste of time.” “I flunked.” “Every time I’ve quit I’ve crashed and burned.” Ouch. Participants are harder on themselves than anyone else ever could be. A little part of me sighed inside when today’s participant said: “My confidence is low, because I’ve never been able to do it... [More]