Great American Smokeout 2017: Quit Smoking for One Day

Great American Smokeout 2017: Quit Smoking for One Day

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. You can raise awareness of lung cancer by participating in the Great American Smokeout on November 16th. This event focuses on giving current smokers the tools and encouragement needed to quit smoking. Smokers can use the date to make a plan to quit, or they may plan in advance and quit smoking that day.

 

The annual Great American Smokeout began in the 1970s. Today, it is celebrated with rallies, parades, stunts, quitting information in schools, workplaces, Main streets, and legislative halls throughout the United States.

 

The University of Florida will have a table in the UF Health Davis Cancer Pavilion Lobby with quit kits provided by the American Cancer Society,  free giveaways, and educational materials about lung cancer screenings. The Lung Cancer Awareness ribbon is white, so you can show your support for the event by wearing white on November 16th. Santa Fe College will also be partnering with Tobacco Free Florida on November 17th to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use. They will be tabling at the S-Breezeway at Santa Fe College from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on November 17th.

By quitting – even for 1 day – smokers will be taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing their risk of cancer. In addition to taking a tangible step towards a healthier life, there are immediate benefits to quitting. These benefits include an improved sense of taste and smell, better lung capacity to accomplish ordinary activities (feeling less out of breath), and a reduction in the yellowing of nails and teeth. Quitting also helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on how you look, including premature wrinkling of your skin, gum disease, and tooth loss.

 

Here are some tips to help you make a quit plan, from the American Cancer Society:

  • Choose a Quit Day. If you aren’t ready to quit smoking for good on November 16th, the Great American Smokeout is a great day to build a plan to quit smoking. Picking a day within the next month is important, and making a promise to yourself to quit on that day is key.
  • Tell your friends and family about your Quit Day. Make sure they are holding you accountable.
  • Get rid of all of your cigarettes and ashtrays.
  • Choose your plan. A great way to quit is with a cessation group, because they offer support, guidance, and accountability. They also offer free nicotine replacement, which can help you be more successful in your quit attempt.
  • Start calling yourself a non-smoker. Practice saying “I don’t smoke.”
  • Ask those who still smoke to not smoke around you. Ask them not to leave cigarettes out where you can see them.
  • Have you tried to quit before? What went wrong? Figure out what worked and what didn’t, and make a plan for how you will handle certain triggers.
  • Most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself. A slip is just that: a relapse. Don’t let one cigarette derail your entire quit plan.

Quitting is hard, but it has immediate and long-term benefits at any age. Getting help through counseling or medications can double and even triple the chances of quitting successfully. At Suwannee River AHEC, we provide free, local cessation groups led by Tobacco Treatment Specialists, who are trained to help you succeed in quitting. Group classes also provide nicotine replacement therapy (patches, lozenges, and gum) free of charge. Free consultation and training is also available as part of our system’s change for healthcare professionals interested in implementing evidence-based interventions within their organization for all tobacco users. For more information on how to quit with SRAHEC, click here.

 

Thank you to our wonderful intern, Juliana Matiz, for contributing to this blog post. Juliana is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. 

By |2017-12-13T19:42:09-05:00November 16th, 2017|Categories: Education, Tobacco Cessation|2 Comments

2 Comments

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