AUGUSTA – Every Jan. 1 hundreds of Maine smokers make a New Year’s resolution to quit.

The Maine Tobacco HelpLine is braced for an expected surge in calls. Since 2002, calls to the quit line increase in the first three months of a new year, said Ken Lewis, director of the Maine Health Center for Tobacco Independence. In January, calls range from 300 to 350 a week, a 40 percent increase.

Most who call wanting to quit are 30 to 60. Many are facing chronic illnesses such as asthma, heart problems or high blood pressure. Quitting can reverse some of the effects of long-term addiction, Lewis said.

“The body begins changes” after that last cigarette, Lewis said. Twenty minutes after a cigarette, blood pressure and pulse come down. Eight hours later, oxygen level in the blood increases to normal. Two weeks to three months after blood circulation improves and lung function increases. “Basically after 15 years of nonsmoking the risk of heart disease is that of a nonsmoker,” Lewis said.

Many try to quit multiple times before becoming smoke free, Lewis said. “We tell people, ‘never quit quitting.'”

The tobacco quit line is funded by the state’s Healthy Maine trust fund, which gets its money from the tobacco settlement. The call center is staffed by tobacco treatment specialists who give support and quitting strategies.

It makes a difference, according to a Brewer man who quit on his 10th try.

Donald Volz, 46, said he started smoking when he was 18. After he saw the help line’s number on the back of a phone book, he called.

“Right from the start they really cared. You could hear it in their voice,” Volz said. The counselor helped Volz develop a personal plan on how he could get through withdrawal, including a smooth stone to hold to get through the cravings, a short straw to put in his mouth instead of cigarette.

The tobacco specialist frequently called Volz after to check on him. “One time I was at the grocery store. I was glad to hear from them.” Volz said he got down from a pack a day to 10 cigarettes. “Then I got fed up and just stopped. When they called back I was excited. I could tell her the news.”

The quit line calls to Volz “were the biggest thing,” he said. “There was somebody else on the planet who cared.” Once you quit “the smoking crowd don’t want you anymore,” and those who don’t smoke don’t really care.

Since the summer of 2006 when Volz and his wife both quit life is better, he said.

“We’re saving at least $300 a month.” Cigarettes cost $4 to $6 a pack, or $50 plus a carton. When Volz and his wife climb stairs to their apartment, “we don’t huff and puff anymore,” he said. “My lungs are healing. We’re much better now.”

Tobacco treatment specialists who answer the help line help callers build a personal quit plan, Lewis said. They understand what quitters are going through. Smokers are two and three times more likely to quit when they have support. “They don’t have to do it alone,” Lewis said.

The help line is confidential, available from 8 a.m. until midnight seven days a week, “and it’s free.”

For more information, call the help line at 1-800-207-1230, or go to http://www.tobaccofreemaine.org/resourcestoquit.html

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