When Produce Clerk Cheryl Crowley, #866, Clearwater, Florida, quit smoking cigarettes, she improved her physical and financial health.

Cheryl smoked at least a pack and a half per day for nearly 40 years and suffered from arthritis. Her doctor talked to her about how quitting smoking would help her arthritis, so she signed up for the Tobacco Cessation Program offered to Publix BCBS PPO Plan enrollees.

“I just thought, ‘OK, I’m going to do this,’” Cheryl said.

The program has two components — the brand name, tobacco cessation drug Chantix^® and the free GET QUIT support plan. Chantix is available at the $12 generic copay for up to 24 weeks per calendar year, exclusively from a Publix Pharmacy, and the $100 prescription drug calendar year deductible is waived for the program.

Cheryl’s doctor prescribed Chantix, and she was pleasantly surprised to find her urge to smoke disappeared quickly. Cheryl also found that quitting smoking did indeed help her arthritis, as her doctor had told her. Her breathing improved, and now she says she feels good overall.

And quitting had another unexpected benefit. Cheryl was spending an estimated $100 a week on cigarettes. When she stopped buying them, she was able to save enough money to buy a car.

Because of her success through the Tobacco Cessation Program, she regularly encourages her co-workers to sign up.

“I tell them to just sign up for the program,” she said. “I’m glad I don’t smoke anymore.”