Nashville Bar Owner Shares Journey to Quit Nicotine As Smoke-Free Ordinance Goes into Effect

With nearly 1 in 5 Tennessee residents smoking, city regulations take effect prohibiting indoor smoking and vaping in 21+ establishments

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 30 million adults nationwide still smoke, and nearly 70% of smokers want to quit. According to a recent study in JAMA Open Network, quit attempts among adult smokers in the U.S. decreased during the pandemic, making it a critical time for smokers to have access to proven-effective quit smoking resources to help. And with nearly 1 in 5 Tennessee residents smoking, and with new legislation taking effect today to prohibit indoor smoking and vaping inside establishments meant for ages 21 and up, one Nashville resident is speaking out about his journey to quitting nicotine.

John Peet, the owner of Jane's Hideaway, a restaurant, bar, and live music venue in East Nashville, quit smoking with support of The EX^® Program from the national public health organization Truth Initiative^® earlier this year.

"After losing a family member to lung cancer and witnessing a friend's current battle with cancer, I wanted to make some positive changes for my mental and physical health," stated John, who quit smoking with support from the EX Program after more than 15 years. John's quit journey is chronicled in a series of vlogs, which he hopes will help and inspire others like him to also quit smoking.

Indoor smoking culture in Nashville bars comes to an end

John was intimately familiar with the pervasive smoking culture in the Southern bar scene.

"Working in the Nashville restaurant and bar industry means I'm constantly surrounded by smoking and tobacco use," John added. "It's really hard to avoid triggering cravings when many of the people around you are smoking."

Nashville's new law, going into effect today, should change that. Though indoor smoking has been illegal in most Tennessee establishments since 2007, the law exempted some businesses restricted to ages 21 and up. Now, local governments have the power to regulate smoking and vaping in those venues, including Jane's Hideaway.

"Working in a smoke-filled bar or music venue is not only dangerous to one's health, but makes quitting nicotine that much harder," noted Jamie Kent, Chair of Musicians for a Smokefree Nashville. "The road to our city's new ordinance has been a long and winding one and was led by courageous musicians and hospitality workers like John, who advocated for smokefree workplaces, and who now finally have the same workplace protection as nearly every other Nashvillian. Today is a victory for John and for all the musicians and hospitality workers in our community trying to quit. We hope that both John and Nashville inspire other people and places in Tennessee to do the same."

Evidence-based support that helps people quit for good

Research-backed and proven-effective resources are critical to help people successfully quit smoking or vaping. It can take multiple attempts to quit tobacco, and while smokers may attempt to quit without help, support is critical and can improve opportunities for success. Evidence-based treatments recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General include text message interventions, internet-based interventions, and short- and long-acting forms of quit medication.

John took full advantage of EX Program offerings, particularly the support provided by the EX Community, the longest running online community dedicated to helping people quit smoking, vaping, and using smokeless tobacco.

EX Program is the only quit-tobacco program that combines the scientific leadership in digital tobacco solutions from Truth Initiative with a proven treatment model from Mayo Clinic. It is designed exclusively for employers and health plans and is available to more than 10 million individuals across the U.S. through strategic partnerships with organizations committed to helping their employees and members tackle tobacco addiction. EX Program qualifies as a reasonable alternative standard for employers and health plans that use a tobacco surcharge. Rigorous research funded by federal agencies for over a decade has shown that use of the EX Plan quadruples quit rates.

In one section of the EX Community forum, users post goodbye letters to cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine. Inspired by these letters, John submitted one of his own. "It's been 15 years of you being a constant pesky backseat driver," he wrote. "My mouth deserves better than you, my lungs, heart, and future relationships don't need you around."

Additional quit resources from Truth Initiative

Truth Initiative is committed to helping people overcome tobacco addiction and continues to be a leader in providing proven-effective cessation solutions. In response to the youth e-cigarette epidemic, EX offers resources to help parents of young e-cigarette users. As youth e-cigarette use persists at epidemic levels, Truth Initiative also offers a free and anonymous text message quit vaping program for youth and young adults called This is Quitting. Part of the national truth^® youth education campaign, This is Quitting is now helping more than 500,000 young people on their journey to quit nicotine. Teens and young adults ages 13-24 can visit thetruth.com or text "DITCHVAPE" to 88709 to enroll.

Learn more about EX Program at TheEXProgram.com.

More information about Truth Initiative can be found at TruthInitiative.org.

About the EX^® Program

The EX Program is the only quit-tobacco program that combines the scientific leadership in digital tobacco solutions from Truth Initiative with a proven treatment model from Mayo Clinic. This program provides the personalized support that tobacco users—smokers, vapers, and chew tobacco users—need for the behavioral, social, and physical aspects of addiction. The EX Program includes a personalized quit plan with interactive exercises; live chat coaching with experts; the longest-running and largest community of current and former tobacco users; interactive text messaging tailored to the participant; and quit medication delivered to the participant's home. Clients receive real-time reporting through an interactive dashboard, customized promotional materials, a dedicated client success manager, and more. Visit theexprogram.com for details.

About Truth Initiative^®
Truth Initiative is a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where all young people reject smoking, vaping and nicotine and a future where tobacco and nicotine addiction are a thing of the past. In 2020, we celebrated 20 years of saving lives and preventing millions of youth from smoking. Our impact has helped drive the teen smoking rate down from 23% in 2000 to under 3% in 2021. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth^® public education campaign. As youth e-cigarette use threatens to addict a new generation to nicotine, we are leading the fight against tobacco and nicotine addiction in all forms. Our rigorous scientific research and policy studies, community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco, and innovation in tobacco dependence treatment are also helping to end one of the most critical public health battles of our time. Based in Washington D.C., our organization, formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more, visit truthinitiative.org.

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SOURCE Truth Initiative