Western Baptist gives smokers chance to Quit Now

Roger Knoth was a smoker for 45 years until he had a heart attack two weeks after his 60th birthday.

Knoth, who had two stents to open blood flow to his heart at Western Baptist this summer, is now committed to a healthier lifestyle.

“I’ve tried to quit off and on before,” said Knoth, the state highway superintendent for Lyon County . “I had to work seven days a week during the ice storm and it was a very stressful time. I was smoking as fast as I could. My health life was very bad and I ended up paying for it.”

Knoth quit smoking after he left Western Baptist, with the help of prescription medicine. “I can already tell I’m feeling better after quitting smoking,” he said. “Giving that up after 45 years, with medicine, is working out good for me.”

Western Hospital offers “Quit Now,” a free event on Nov. 19, the Great American Smokeout, to help those who want to quit smoking. Sessions with a physician are available by appointment from 8 to 10 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. in the atrium between Doctors Office Buildings 2 and 3.

Family practice physician Bill Conyer, M.D., and hospitalist Scott Wilson, M.D., will advise smokers of various quitting aids, including prescription medicine and nicotine replacement therapy.

“I’ve been in primary care medicine for about 30 years and I’ve seen a lot of suffering due to smoking,” said Dr. Conyer, a physician at Western Baptist’s Prime Care Center , a walk-in clinic at West Park Village . “Nicotine is a wickedly addictive drug. Smoking increases your risk of heart disease and all kinds of cancer, and it accelerates the aging process.”

Phone (270) 575-2895 for an appointment for your free one-on-one consultation with a physician; your appointment may take an hour. In addition, Western Baptist offers free weekly classes in 13-week sessions to help smokers who want to quit; phone (270) 442-1310 for the current schedule.