940 people succeeded in giving 600,000 won money to “quit smoking as hard as climbing the Himalayas”

# Baekmo, 33, living in Nowon-gu, Seoul, tried to quit smoking for the first time in 2014, but failed once. When Paik applied for the fifth time to a smoking cessation clinic operated by the city, he succeeded in “3 months of smoking cessation,” but has repeatedly failed due to stress at work.

To Baek, who did not give up and came to register for the ninth time in 2019, the counselor encouraged him, saying, “Quitting smoking is as difficult as climbing a Himalayan snowy mountain.” Paik succeeded in smoking cessation by receiving support for smoking cessation aids such as patches from the clinic, reinforcing his determination to the news that the ward would receive up to 600,000 won in smoking cessation success subsidies.

# Kim Mo (41), the mother of two young children, has been smoking cessation for 18 months after three challenges. Kim, who felt the desire to smoke after parenting was over, did not smoke much, but was not confident from the first consultation. The counselor advised me to decide on other things to do, such as reading a book or listening to music after parenting.

I used smoking cessation gum, but I tried to quit smoking with only my will. He said that he wanted to give up because of the hardship on the way, but he continued to think of his strengths by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of smoking cessation. He said that the quit smoking success subsidy was also a motive for continuing to quit smoking.

In the first month of the new year, when the pledge to quit smoking, Nowon-gu’s policy, which is the only city in Seoul to provide support for successful smoking cessation, is drawing attention.

In Nowon-gu, if you apply to the ward health center smoking cessation clinic and successfully quit smoking, you can receive a cash subsidy according to the number of months. The maximum is 600,000 won for 12 months, 100,000 won for 12 months, 200,000 won for 24 months, and 300,000 won for 36 months. Last year, 940 people successfully quit smoking and were paid 175,600,000 won.

Kim Soon-ae, head of the smoking cessation project team, Nowon-gu, said, “With the aim of returning the smoking control penalty to residents who have successfully quit smoking, we have enacted an ordinance related to the creation of a smoking cessation environment in 2014 and are operating the subsidy system. There are many residents who say it is a great help.”

It is said that trying to target the subsidy creates a spirit of challenge. A man in his 40s who succeeded in smoking for 23 years and then quit smoking for one year also expressed his feelings that the subsidy was a great motivator.

Team leader Kim said, “There are many cases of giving up on the way and stopping counseling because of disappointment or disappointment with the counselor if it doesn’t work as expected even if you have strong will and confidence to quit smoking at first.” It is good to endure day by day.” This means that it is important to feel confident by successfully quitting smoking for a day.

It was also said that writing a success sheet was helpful. He added that efforts to change habits, such as holding on for 3 minutes with the help of supplements, are needed.

Nowon-gu is gradually expanding non-smoking areas along with the subsidy policy. In 2018, the area within 10m of the boundary line of daycare centers and kindergartens was designated as a non-smoking area, and in 2019, bicycle paths and trails along the river were designated as non-smoking areas.

Oh Seung-rok, head of Nowon-gu, said, “I hope that the successful smoking cessation grant will be a good motive for smokers,” and said, “We will continue to implement various policies to reduce the smoking rate.”

Other autonomous districts are also increasing the number of non-smoking areas. Seocho-gu designated the entire Yangjae-dong as a non-smoking area last year, and Yeongdeungpo-gu designated the area of ​​Yeouido Station as a non-smoking area, followed by additionally designating four streets in Yeouido, including the road in front of the National Assembly Building, Yeouido-ro, and the road around Yeouido Lotte Castle Ivy.

Reporter Choi Eun-kyung [email protected]