SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– Quitting smoking can be a difficult thing to do and many Americans try several times before succeeding or giving up.

Glenda Miller of CoxHealth said even long-term smokers can benefit from the class.

“Many smokers find it relaxing, so if they find themselves in a stressful situation, at work or in a family situation or maybe there’s a catastrophic event of some kind,” Miller said. “And so we just revert back to patterns that’ve helped us be comfortable.”

CoxHealth officials are hoping to help defeat that problem with a new program called “Beat the Pack”.

“What we’re trying to do is help them identify triggers besides the urge to smoke when the nicotine levels drop,” Miller said. “But also, the triggers that cause them to smoke. So we can then the next week work on how you can avoid those triggers, what you do instead of when the urge to smoke comes.”

Beat the pack, is a multi-session program and support group aimed at helping smokers quit.

The four-week class begins on November 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the CoxHealth surgery center. Through the course, participants will learn step-by-step ways to help overcome their tobacco dependence.

“We’ll have folks that smoke cigars, we’ll have folks that chew….we change it around a little bit but the same kinds of things work in terms of the principles behind what we’re trying to do,” Miller said. “And certainly, someone that vapes it’d be a great thing…although lots of folks vaping haven’t really adopted the idea that it’s bad for them.”

Research shows quitting smoking often requires repeated intervention and multiple attempts which is why it typically takes a smoker between six and 11-attempts at quitting to finally succeed.

Miller says some insurance companies will cover the cost of the class.