Quit Smoking and Enjoy Every Minute of March Madness -- It's a Slam Dunk for Your Health and Wallet

SAN DIEGO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 6, 2007 -- Stop missing the big game because you need a cigarette break. If you quit smoking today, you can watch every minute of March Madness because you won't have to leave the room to light up.

"If you envy the stamina shown by college basketball players, commit to an activity that will benefit your own health and stop smoking," said Sharon Cummins, research director, 1-800-NO-BUTTS. "For smokers, it's their shot to make a change and add change to their wallets. Fortunately, there is free help for people who want to stop smoking or quit using tobacco."

1-800-NO-BUTTS offers free professional and confidential telephone counseling for Californians wanting help to stop smoking, whether they are currently addicted to tobacco, are struggling to stay quit or just want information for a friend or relative. It also offers services to help individuals quit chewing tobacco and has experts on teen smoking.

"Most cigarette smokers and tobacco users want to break their addiction and can really benefit from professional help through the process," said Cummins. "Telephone counseling offers many advantages to those trying to quit tobacco use including privacy, accessibility and affordability. And, it works."

Studies conducted by researchers at 1-800-NO-BUTTS have shown that smokers who got telephone counseling service were twice as likely to quit smoking as those who didn't.

"Quitting smoking not only benefits your health, but your wallet as well," said Cummins. "A pack of cigarettes averages about $4.50 in California. For a person who smokes a pack a day, you'll save nearly $1653 in your first year of quitting."

In addition to telephone counseling, 1-800-NO-BUTTS offers quitting information, advice and resources on its Web site, www.NoButts.org. It also recommends www.TobaccoFreeCA.com, a resource for quitting smoking and eliminating tobacco everywhere in our daily lives.