Putnam County Hospital ran a contest across all four county elementary schools to participate in an anti-vaping poster contest.   The posters that were turned in were featured on social media platforms where followers could vote on their favorite poster.

The winner of the poster contest was Madilyn Wilson from Tzounakis.  Madilyn’s poster will now be created into foam board posters to be distributed and displayed by willing businesses throughout the community. 

Vaping is unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults. Most vapes contain nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. Vapes can contain other harmful substances besides nicotine. Young people who use e-cigarettes may be more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future. Visit https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html for more information regarding youth and vaping.

Putnam County Hospital offers a Kick It program for adults and teens to kick the nicotine habit.  KICK IT is the newer Putnam County Hospital Tobacco Cessation Program. The program offers patients one on one cessation counseling that is based on best practice guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Employees can self-refer. Patients will be referred from primary care or specialty care to work with a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) at Putnam County Hospital. The two Tobacco Treatment Specialists have been trained in Motivational Interviewing, pharmacotherapy strategies and tobacco treatment interventions. Patients will meet with a TTS for a four week session with the intent of setting a quit day at the end of the sessions or before. TTS staff will be available for telephone and offsite support for patients during business hours.

For more information on our Kick-It program visit https://www.pchosp.org/in-house-tobacco-cessation

Putnam County Hospital; providing exceptional healthcare close to home.

^{Madilyn Wilson and Assistant Principal Mrs. Asbell}