If your New Year’s resolution is to quit smoking, Jay Schofield has an offer to help you do it.

For free.

Mr. Schofield, a West Tisbury resident and retired high school teacher and coach, has been hosting smoking cessation classes since 1974. He has helped over 1,000 Islanders quit smoking.

And as 2009 begins, he has decided he would like to give something back.

“I just think everybody is hurting. People don’t have money. So I am doing this as a good will thing,” he said.

Mr. Schofield ordinarily charges $60 for the class, which meets once for two and a half hours. He describes his approach as “aggressive cold turkey.”

A former smoker, Mr. Schofield taught himself self-hypnosis when he quit many years ago.

“I teach people what quitting anything is like,” he said. “I love doing it because I love people achieving health. And I just think in today’s economy we’ve got to help each other as much as we can.”

Call 508-693-2957 to quit. Classes begin this month.