POCATELLO - The number of people trying to quit smoking across the state is climbing quickly. But are there some drawbacks to this good news?

Jeffrey Torres has been smoking for the last 17 years. In March he and his wife decided to quit. Jeffrey Torres said, "It has been one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do in my life."

He tried using a nicotine patch, but is still struggling to kick the habit. "It made me jittery, it felt like I was detoxing from something really bad," said Torres. And Torres isn't alone.

Since lawmakers decided to increase the federal tax on cigarettes more and more people are looking to quit. Traci Lambson, Health Education Specialist with the Southeastern District Health Department said, "As far as QuitNet, we know that it has more than doubled just from March to April."

During the 2008 fiscal year, Idaho collected about $54.5 million dollars from cigarette and tobacco sales. But if more people are giving it up, won't that mean less money for the state?

Not necessarily. State Senator Diane Bilyeu tells Eyewitness News that, "Its great to see more people making the decision to quit smoking. However, it probably won't have much of an impact on state revenue. If there was a large drop in cigarette and tobacco tax collection, the state would likely recoup some of the loss by smokers not having to go to the hospital."

Welcome news considering the Health Department expects the number of quitters to continue rising. Lambson said, "For smokers this might be a time that they're totally reconsidering the fact that this might be the time for them to quit, and we just want people to know that there are services out here and they're free."

And cost isn't the only motivating factor. The 2,000 people who signed up for help in April were also concerned about their health. Torres said, "I really wanted to quit because of my girls."

And they're excited about incentives like free nicotine gum and patches offered by QuitLine and QuitNet. "That definitely increase the number of callers and the number of people who have logged on," said Lambson.

The Health Department also sponsors regular tobacco cessation classes to help people quit.

To get in touch with someone at the Health Department, or for a link to QuitNet just head over Newslinks.