DENVER -- State health officials on Tuesday unveiled a new hotline and Internet site aimed at helping Coloradans quit smoking.

The toll-free telephone service, dubbed Colorado Quitline, connects people who want to quit smoking with counselors who can guide and support them through the process. The Colorado QuitNet, a Web site, offers expert advice as well as peer support from others who are trying to quit.

Karen DeLeeuw, director of the state tobacco education and prevention program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said she expects to see high demand for the free services.

"After all, so many smokers want to quit and they all have many good reasons to do so," she said.

In a statewide survey conducted by the health department last year, about 85 percent of Colorado's 640,000 adult smokers said they considered quitting during the previous year. While 53 percent attempted to quit, just 3 percent succeeded.

The new services designed to change those figures are based on models of "quitlines" that have been successful in other states. California's hotline serves about 10,000 people annually and reports a 20-25 percent success rate in helping people to quit smoking.

"The Colorado Quitline provides a proven behavioral program to assist those who want to quit on their own, as well as those who are quitting with the help of medications," Dr. Allan Prochazka, professor of medicine at the CU Health Sciences Center, said.

Tobacco use is blamed for 4,600 deaths in Colorado each year and 435,000 deaths nationwide.

State health officials say the new services will cost about $500,000 annually to operate. The effort is being funded with proceeds from Colorado's portion of a lawsuit settlement with the tobacco industry.

Additional Resources:

• Colorado Quitline, (800) 639-QUIT
• QuitNet Web site