Free Smoking-Cessation Sessions Offered Weekly at Medical School

February 21, 2019

Quitting smoking is difficult. But getting help doesn’t have to be: Free counseling in smoking cessation is available every Monday in downtown Winston-Salem.

These group counseling sessions are part of STOP - Stopping Tobacco by Organizing Peers - a community program established and run by students at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health. The meetings are open to all adults; no registration or appointment is required.

In addition to guidance provided by smoking-cessation coaches and support from others who are trying to quit the habit, STOP participants can receive over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy products (patches, gum, lozenges) free of charge.

The group meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. Mondays at Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education, located at 475 Vine St. in the Innovation Quarter. The sessions last between 45 and 60 minutes.

Additional information about the STOP program is available by calling 336-701-5864.

The STOP group sessions are held in conjunction with the weekly DEAC clinic, a student-run, physician-staffed free clinic for people who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for government assistance. Individuals do not have to be DEAC patients to join the STOP program.

Detailed information about the DEAC clinic can be obtained by calling 336-716-3322.

Media contacts:

Eryn Johnson, eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228

Joe McCloskey, jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273