Press Release
| For More Information Contact: | For Release: |
| Julie Armstrong, Health Educator | Date: 11-15-01 |
| Phone: (937) 642-2053 | |
| Fax: (937) 642-2080 |
Join the Great American Smokeout and Quit for One Day
The Union County Health Department asks Union County’s smokers to join the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout this year by quitting for one day. For smokers that have considered quitting in the past, this one day can really help build confidence.
The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout is an annual event, held each year on the third Thursday in November. The event has helped millions of Americans quit by proving to themselves that they can quit for a day or even for a lifetime.
The Health Department offers these tips from the American Cancer Society to avoid smoking on November 15th.
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Avoid your smoking cues, such as coffee or alcohol. Switch to water or soft drinks for the day instead. Take a brisk walk instead of a coffee break in the afternoon. |
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Challenge a smoking friend to join you in quitting and stay in touch throughout the day. A non-smoking friend can help by providing support. |
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Give someone all of your cigarettes and lighters to hold for the day. |
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Avoid people and places where you are tempted to smoke. |
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Use oral substitutions such as sugarless gum or hard candy, raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, or sunflower seeds. |
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Get some physical activity or get to that job around the house you have been meaning to do. |
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Work on a hobby, whatever may keep your hands busy (needlework, woodworking, etc.) can help distract you from the urge to smoke. |
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Take a relaxing bath or make an appointment to get a massage that day to reward yourself. |
After getting through this day, you may decide that you are ready to move on the next step—quitting permanently. Quitting smoking is tough and can take several attempts to make it permanently. Each attempt, however can bring you closer to becoming a non-smoker.
Smokers often say, “Don’t tell me why to quit, tell me how.” There is no right way to quit, but there are some key elements in quitting smoking successfully. These four factors are crucial: making the decision to quit; setting a date and choosing a quit plan; dealing with withdrawal; and have a strategy for staying quit.
Smoking cessation programs can be very important to help a smoker deal with their psychological addiction to smoking, whether it is as part of a class or through self-help materials. Memorial Hospital of Union County offers information and classes on smoking cessation you can contact Memorial Hospital for more information.
Additional therapies include:
Nicotine Replacement Therapy or nicotine substitutes are medicines that provide nicotine without the other harmful components of tobacco and help the smoker deal with the physical addition while quitting. They include the nicotine patch, gum, and nasal spray. Before using nicotine substitutes, it is recommended that you speak with your doctor, especially if you have health concerns.
Zyban is a prescription antidepressant in an extended-release form that reduces symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Hypnosis is helpful to some people. Classes are offered through a partnership with the Health Department and American Lung Association at several places around central Ohio, including Marysville. Contact the Union County Health Department for more information.
It is never too late to quit. Within 20 minutes of smoking the last cigarette, the body begins a series of regenerating changes. After 20 minutes, blood pressure drops to normal. After 8 hours, the carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal. After 24 hours, the chance of heart attack decreases. After one year, the risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker. In 1 to 9 months, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease and cilia regrow in the lungs. After 10 years, the lung cancer death rate decreases by almost half. After 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker. The extent to which these risks fall depends on the total amount the person smoked, the age the person started smoking, and the amount of inhalation.
More information on smoking cessation is available by contacting the Union County Health Department at (937) 642-2053 or toll free 1-888-333-9461, ask to be transferred to Health Education. You can reach the American Cancer Society by calling 1-800-ACS-2345.