National Non-Smoking Week is just around the corner, and Alberta Health Services has a number of events planned to drive home its message about the health effects of smoking.
This year National Non- Smoking Week (NNSW) is January 16-22, and the theme is “There are hundreds of reasons to quit... what’s yours?” Established in 1977, NNSW is one of Canada’s longest ongoing public health campaigns. Some of its goals are to educate about the dangers of smoking, raise awareness, particularly in young people of the dangers of smoking and help people quit.
One endeavour to make smokers take an honest look at quitting is Weedless Wednesday. This is a day for smokers to challenge themselves to try to make it a day without a cigarette. It reinforces the philosophy of taking it one day at a time. If someone can make it through one day, can they make it through two days - three days - a lifetime?
Weedless Wednesday is on January 19, and in what has become a tradition in Drumheller is the annual knee hockey tournament at Greentree School. Other area students are invited to the event, as are the Drumheller Dragons, to have fun with a little knee hockey and gain awareness into the adverse health effects of smoking.
It has been a year of transition on the tobacco front, with some victories by anti-smoking advocates. In July of this year, individual flavoured cigarillos were banned. These were purported to be attractive to young people, as a single cigarillo was inexpensive, and came in ‘candy’ like flavours. Menthol is exempt.
The federal government also announced in December of last year it would strengthen package-labelling requirements for cigarettes and little cigars. The labels that are currently on cigarettes encompass 50 per cent of the package. The new guideline is aiming at 75 per cent. Cigarette packages will have a quit line phone number and URL on each package. It is also planning to introduce 16 new health messages.
The government announced that an image of Barb Tarbox will be on some of the labels. Tarbox was an Alberta woman, who died at 42 in 2003 of brain and lung cancer. In the final months of her life, she toured Canada with a powerful message about the consequences of smoking.
Martin McSween, tobacco reduction and addictions counsellor for Alberta Health Services, is positive about the changes to labelling, but says they could go further.
“It does make sense. What makes more sense is we tried for years to have no colours, and have a generic name of the company. Then it is not as attractive,” he said.
Locally, the QuitCore program has been introduced in Drumheller. In September, a new program was launched. It is a free group support program that gives those who want to quit some of the tools and support they need.
Led by trained cessation professionals, the QuitCore program teaches tobacco users how to develop a plan to quit that will work for them, while providing strategies to deal with recovery symptoms, manage stress and prevent relapse. Consisting of six or eight in-depth sessions over a 10 to 14 week period, the program also connects individuals with others trying to quit.
“Many individuals consider changing habits in the new year to improve their health, and quitting smoking may be one of them,” says Susan Canning, AHS Tobacco Reduction manager. “We are pleased to expand the QuitCore program to new communities to support individuals who want to quit smoking.”
A new program begins in January. To register call 1-866-710-QUIT (7848).