Jincheon County plans to help smokers who are interested in additional help through continuous telephone consultations even after leaving the institute. (image: Jincheon Public Health Center)
JINCHEON, Feb. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Jincheon County in North Chungcheong Province, where evacuees stay after returning from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, is set out to help them who are being housed temporarily at the National Human Resources Development Institute.
A total of 173 evacuees have been quarantined at the institute for 14 days. About 40 of them are smokers.
Based on 156 first enrolled evacuees on January 31, smokers were forced to give up smoking for eight consecutive days.
Since they are only allowed to stay in their designated room without any inevitable circumstances, evacuees from Wuhan are banned from smoking the minute they enter the institute.
Smokers who enjoyed the freedom of smoking in China, which is more tolerant of smoking than in Korea, reportedly complained of severe withdrawal when a sudden ban on smoking was imposed along with their admission.
Smokers picked anti-smoking supplements as the first to ease withdrawal symptoms when applying for personal items.
Starting with 80 anti-smoking pipes on the first day of admission, Jincheon Public Health Center has so far provided 440 anti-smoking pipes and 40 anti-smoking patches.
With the no-smoking period for Wuhan evacuees exceeding a week, the health center has embarked on a more active “no smoking clinic.”
Authorities said the goal was to not only help ease the withdrawal symptoms but also help evacuees quit smoking altogether.
The health center offered a “No Smoking Kit” to smokers at the institute last Friday.
In addition to the anti-smoking pipes and patches that evacuees wanted, there are also vitamin-containing candies, oral cleaning and toothbrushes that would help alleviate their desire to smoke.
The package also contained stretching bands and grippers. Focusing on exercise with a small indoor exercise machine can help smokers deal with cravings by offering a distraction.
Furthermore, leaflets which introduce the need to quit smoking and living rules for the success of smoking were also included in the “No Smoking Kit.”
Jincheon County plans to help smokers who are interested in additional help through continuous telephone consultations even after leaving the institute.
The hope is that smokers will be able to completely succeed in quitting smoking.
“This is a great opportunity for evacuees from Wuhan who are having a hard time at the institute to quit smoking,” Park Ji-min, head of health promotion at Jincheon Public Health Center said.
“This is because they are not allowed to smoke or drink at the institute for 14 days.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
