DC Calls It Quits! week: September 18-22, 2017

DC Tobacco Free Coalition is proud to join the DC Department of Health and local partners to sponsor DC Calls It Quits! Week. Together, we will inspire, equip and support DC residents to quit smoking. To learn about local events happening during DC Calls It Quits Week!, visit our community calendar. We invite any group hosting a quit event during the week to post to the calendar. 

Download the 2017 social media toolkit for your DC Calls It Quits communications . These are suggested tweets, Facebook posts and images that you can share with your network. Join us for the Twitter Chat on September 20th, here is everything you need to know!

2017 PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: September 18, 2017

Contact: Jenny Kay (202) 759-9614 jenniferkay@rational360.com

DC Tobacco Free Coalition and 40 Campaign Partners Announce DC Calls It Quits! Week Dedicated to Helping DC Residents Quit Smoking

DC Calls It Quits! Week Will Provide Resources to Help Residents Across DC Quit Smoking For Good.

WASHINGTON, DC (September 18, 2017) – During the week of September 18-22, the DC Tobacco Free Coalition is partnering with the DC Department of Health and more than 40 local organizations in the District of Columbia to sponsor DC Calls It Quits! Week, a public health awareness campaign with a week of community events to educate residents about the importance of quitting smoking and connect them to the resources available to them within the District.

“Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. Smoking kills 800 District of Columbia residents each year and leads to a significant decline in quality of life for smokers,” says Rolando A. Andrewn, Chairman of the DC Tobacco Free Coalition. “Nearly seven in ten adult smokers would like to quit smoking, and over 68 percent of DC smokers have made an attempt to quit in the last year but have been unsuccessful because they are unaware of the resources available here in the District. Which is why we have come together with more than 40 local partners for DC Calls it Quits! Week to inspire residents get the assistance they need to quit smoking.”

DC Calls It Quits! Week kicks off on Monday, Sept 18 with events throughout the community. The full calendar of events is below, including a kick-off press conference on Tuesday, September 19, at 3:30pm ET, where local residents as well as campaign partners and anti-smoking advocates will come together to announce DC Calls It Quits! Week and to hear Councilmember Vincent Gray announce his new proposal aimed at helping residents across the District quit smoking. The campaign will conclude on Sept. 22 with an awards ceremony at the Anthony Bowen YMCA. To learn more about the complete schedule of events for DC Calls It Quits! Week, and to register for certain events please visit the calendar here.   

Event Calendar

Monday:                Community events hosted by partner organizations

Tuesday:                DC Calls It Quits! Week Official Press Conference hosted by the DC Tobacco Free Coalition

                                   Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 3:30pm

                                    John A. Wilson Building

                                   1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

 Wednesday:        Online Twitter Chat hosted by the American Heart Association

                                    Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 1:00pm

                                    Follow @heartofgwr and use #DCQuits to join the conversation

 Thursday:              DC Calls It Quits! Week Summit

                                    Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 9:00am-12:45pm

                                    Kaiser Family Foundation, Barbara Jordan Conference Center

                                    1330 G St., NW

Friday:                     Award Ceremony for Breathe DC’s Be Tobacco Free Creativity Contest

                                    Friday, Sept. 22, 2017

                                    YMCA Anthony Bowen

                                    1325 W Street, NW

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognizes tobacco dependence as a chronic disease that often requires repeated intervention and multiple attempts to quit,” says Laura Hale, Program Specialist, American Lung Association in the District of Columbia. “ Now, there’s a new tool to help people quit – the DC Department of Health’s “Text to Quit” service, making it even easier to access quit resources. I encourage all residents to learn more about the smoking cessation treatments and services available by calling the DC Quitline – 1 (800) QUIT NOW (784-8669) – which provides services, including counseling sessions with certified tobacco treatment specialists, free nicotine patches and a local number for Spanish-speaking residents.”

For more information about DC Calls It Quits! Week, please visit www.dcquits.org.

For more information about DC Calls It Quits! Week partners, please visit DCTFC.org/dcquits-partners/.

You can also join the conversation on Twitter using #DCQuits.

About the DC Tobacco Free Coalition

The DC Tobacco Free Coalition (DCTFC) is an alliance of community-based and national public health organizations working together to educate the District of Columbia about the harmful effects of tobacco and secondhand smoke. The Coalition's mission is to improve health and protect lives in the nation's capital, by decreasing tobacco use and exposure through education, advocacy and public policy.  For more information, please visit http://www.dctff.org/.

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DC Calls It quits! week 2016 proclamation