WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (WCBS 880) – The White Plains Hospital is rewarding its employees this Thanksgiving for quitting cold turkey.

For employees who’ve cut their smoking habits, they’re getting frozen turkeys as part of the hospital’s goal of going smoke and tobacco free in the Great American Smokeout, WCBS 880’s Catherine Cioffi reports.

When Alisha Horton had trouble breathing, she knew she had to quit.

“I actually got sick. When you have an oxygen tube going up your nose and you can’t breathe, it’s a very good reason to stop,” Horton said.

But now she’s smoke-free, and it’s going well, she said.

Now she gets to prep her turkey for Thanksgiving.

Melissa Hays quit Sept. 10 and she said it feels good.

When she realized she had been smoking for half of her life, she knew she had to quit cold turkey. Now she’s cooking for her unit on Thanksgiving eve.