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The Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program announced on March 6, 2009, that smokers who call the state's Quitline (1-800-TRY-TO-STOP) would be able to receive a free two-week supply of nicotine patches and counseling to help them quit. Judith Coykendall, director of Partners for Clean Air, a program of Seven Hills Behavioral Health, and the Department of Health announced that patches, valued at $50, along with quit-smoking tips and a list of local programs that offer individual and group counseling would be offered until the end of April, 2009. The announcement was made at a press conference held at the southeast regional office of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Purchase Street in New Bedford. Advertisements in English, Spanish and Portuguese have been posted. Free Nicotine Patch Giveaway Campaign includes Fall River and 23 towns in southeastern Massachusetts. For more information about the project, contact Susan Dickens at Partners for Clean Air, 508-995-3026, X228. For information about the Fall River Tobacco Control program, contact Marilyn Edge, Tobacco Control Coordinator at 508-324-2423.
 

(Top row, left) Department of Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach and Judith Coykendall, director of Partners for Clean Air, describe the program at the news conference. (Top row, center) Commissioner Auerbach, Ms. Coykendall,  State Representative Antonio F.D. Cabral of New Bedford and Lois Keithly, director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program pose for a photo. (Top row, right) Representative Cabral talks about his own experiences in quitting. (Middle row, left and right) Ms. Keithly and Immigrants Assistance Center Director Helena Marques respond positively to the announcement. (Bottom row, left) Fall River Municipal Employee Wellness Program coordinator Julianne Kelly and Fall River Tobacco Control coordinator Marilyn Edge applaud the announcement. (Bottom row, center) Kristy Roshia, a smoker who is trying to quit, has a nicotine patch placed on her arm by New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang. (Bottom row, right) Fall River Director of Health and Human Services Henry Vaillancourt, M.D. and New Bedford's Director of Public Health Marianne DeSouza also applaud the announcement.

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