11-21-13 great american smoke-out

The American Cancer Society is marking the 38^th Annual Great American Smokeout by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit. The good news about quitting smoking is that it is beneficial to health at any age and there are more resources than ever before to help you quit.  Below are the basic tips for battling nicotine addiction and increasing your chances of success:

• Contact your health care professional to find out if medication is appropriate to use and what kind of medication.  Counseling and combing one of the 7 FDA approved cessation mediations are more effective than counseling or medication alone
• Pick your quit date
• Tell your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers about your quit day so they can support you and help you through the bumps
• Remove all tobacco from the house, car, and work desk
• Identify triggers such as: having your first cigarette waking up in the morning, reading, watching TV, and drinking coffee.
• Prepare for your triggers and identify substitutes to avoid grabbing for a cigarette or smokeless tobacco
• Celebrate your success by spending the cash you saved from quitting on something fun

For Quit resources visit the following sites: WI Quit Line at www.WiQuitLine.org or “Quit for Life” Facebook page that offers great on-line social support;  https://www.facebook.com/quitforlife?fref=ts for smokeless tobacco visit http://mylastdip.com/

Not Ready to Quit?

Eliminate Indoor Tobacco Smoke Until You Quit

According to the Surgeon General’s 2007 report “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Secondhand Smoke” children age 3-11 years have cotinine levels (a biological marker for tobacco smoke exposure) more than twice as high as adults. Infants are more susceptible to these toxic particulates because they are smaller and have a faster breathing rate, which means they are exposed to higher concentrations than older children. If you are not ready to quit, you can help children stay healthy by eliminating exposure to tobacco smoke by:

   ·         Establishing a completely smoke-free home, it’s the most effective way to protect children from exposure to tobacco smoke.  
   ·         Opening a window or limiting smoking to a certain room are not effective measures, as the tobacco smoke is still circulated throughout the air in the home
   ·         Making vehicles smoke-free is also important because tobacco smoke in vehicles can reach high concentration levels

When you are ready, make the call, ask for help, until then cut down, remove triggers by not smoking in your house or your car and remove the tobacco smoke for the health of everyone.  It sometimes takes a person multiple tries to quit smoking. Don’t give up. You can increase your chance of success by using both counseling and medication together and asking for support from family, friends, and co-workers.