By Matt Leingang
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A key component of Hamilton County's effort to curb smoking - a 24-hour help line - has yielded 74 calls through the last week of January.

Launched in mid-October, the tobacco information line links callers who want to quit with local programs that help people stop smoking.

Lee Anne Cooksey, a pack-a-day smoker until last month, calls it a "security blanket."

"I feel good knowing that it's out there," said Cooksey, 34, of Bethel.

The number of callers is not large. But since there has been no major advertising campaign, county officials are pleased with the amount. There are plans to advertise on billboards.

"This is still a new program. Seventy-four calls is pretty good," said Susan Schaefer, a health educator and coordinator of the Hamilton County Tobacco Partnership.

The telephone line costs about $11,000. The money comes from a $385,000 grant, part of Ohio's $10 billion tobacco class-action lawsuit settlement.

The information line - (513) 636-KICK - is always available.

Calls are answered by nurses and pharmacists with the Drug and Poison Information Center, a service of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. They refer callers to stop-smoking programs and provide information about nicotine replacement therapies.

Northern Kentucky residents do not have a local number. However, the health department there participates with the National Cancer Institute's phone line: (877) 44U-QUIT.

Ohio actually has a statewide number: (800) 934-4840. It began last August as a one-year pilot program run by the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation.

But that phone number has been marketed only to populations in Ohio with the highest incidences of tobacco use: Cuyahoga and Lucas counties and in rural areas around Athens. It has received 1,800 calls.

"Our goal after one year is to evaluate its effectiveness on high-risk populations and then market it to the rest of the state," said Beth Schieber, tobacco foundation spokeswoman.

---

E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com