Panhandle Health District

                                                            8500 N. Atlas Road         Hayden, Idaho  83835

www.phd1.idaho.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      Date:     January 20, 2010                       

Contact:                                                                            Released by: Jeanne Bock, Director                     

Cynthia Taggart

Public Information Officer

(208) 415-5108

(208) 818-7288 (cell)

Family Directs Memorials to Smoking Cessation Program

              Shirley Wagoner was still in grade school when her brother, Dick Case, started smoking. He smoked for about 50 years and, in the end, blamed cigarettes for killing him. He died last week at age 74 of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease—COPD. His family suggested friends and acquaintances send their memorials to the Smoking Cessation and Prevention program at the Panhandle Health District (PHD).

              “I think it would be a great legacy if he could help one person stop smoking,” says Wagoner, a Spokane resident.

              Three days after Case’s memorial, a friend dropped off at PHD headquarters in Hayden a plastic bag containing more than $500 from Case’s sister and daughters.

              “When someone passes, you want to do something that would have been near and dear to them,” Wagoner says. “To help someone not die from COPD would be near and dear to him.”

              PHD offers free four-week smoking cessation classes year round. In 2009, 51 teens quit using tobacco and another 48 reduced their use after taking PHD’s smoking cessation class. In the adult program, 37 adults quit and 38 reduced tobacco use. The program even helped 16 pregnant or young mothers quit using tobacco.

              The classes cover nicotine addiction, battling withdrawal symptoms, stress management techniques, nutrition and exercise, the techniques of dealing with relapse, strategies for coping with urges and more, including free individual consultations.

              Dick Case quit smoking about 10 years before he died, but it was too late for the man who wrote three books of poetry while he worked with people in substance abuse recovery.

              “He touched a lot of lives. I was humbled and overwhelmed by the number of people who came to his memorial,” Wagoner said.

              PHD will use the money toward smoking cessation and prevention efforts. For information on the tobacco cessation program and classes, call Linda Harder at 415-5143.