The Great American Smokeout is an initiative from the American Cancer Society that encourages and supports people to quit smoking cigarettes. This event is celebrated and recognized every year on the third Thursday of November, which is November 17th this year. Quitting can be hard, and people don’t need to quit in one day, just start with day one. People can join Americans from across the country on November 17th to make the commitment to try to quit smoking.
According to the CDC, about 30.8 million Americans still smoke cigarettes each year. Additionally, every year more than 480,000 people die from a smoking-related illness. Smoking harms almost every organ in a person’s body, and negatively impacts overall health. Smoking or using tobacco products can contribute to several different types of cancer, harms tooth and gum health, can negatively impact babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy, among many other health issues. There’s good news though, as soon as a person quits they are turning onto a better road to health. Soon after quitting, heart rate decreases, nicotine leaves the blood stream and within a couple years a person’s risk for heart attack and heart disease drops sharply. Additionally, 10 years after quitting an individual’s risk for lung cancer drops by half.
No matter a person’s willpower, quitting tobacco can be incredibly difficult due to the addictive substance, nicotine, found in tobacco. There are some useful tips that the CDC outlines to help people quit smoking. The first tip is to set a date to quit. Consider choosing a date within the next two next weeks. Next, tell friends and family about your decision to quit. Tell them your quit date, why you want to quit and ask them for support — whether that be through direct support like phone calls or text messages of encouragement, or by not peer pressuring you to smoke with them. The third tip is to prepare for possible challenges. Create a list of ways to cope or things to do when you get the craving to smoke. Next, get rid of cigarettes, matches, lighters ashtrays and other tobacco products from your house, car and from work. Lastly, consider talking with a pharmacist or your doctor about options to help you quit smoking. Nicotine gum or patches, as well as quit-smoking medications can help some people quit.
In addition to using these strategies to quit on your own, you can consider utilizing a quitting program, like the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line. This program provides free assistance and a customized quit plan. You will get one-on-one phone counseling, local cessation program referrals and starter packs of nicotine gum, patches or lozenges. To get connected, you can call 1-800-QUIT NOW or text “READY” to 200-400 (messaging and data rates may apply).
While smoking remains a health issue for millions of Americans a similar issue has arisen in recent years. Vaping has become popular among high school students and young adults. Vaping devices work by using a battery to heat up a coil, and turning a liquid, usually containing nicotine or THC, into an aerosol which is inhaled. Just a few of the health issues related to vaping include lung damage, injury due to overheating and explosion of the device, and nicotine addiction. Just as it’s difficult to quit smoking, it can be incredibly difficult to quit vaping as well. If you have a teenager in your life who is vaping and wants to quit, or if you want to quit vaping, contact the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line by texting VAPEFREE to 873373 to get resources to quit and receive one-on-one support with a coach.
Community members who would like to learn more about the health impacts of smoking, vaping, and find more resources to quit should visit the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tobacco/index.htm
— Bridget Zimmerman is the Public Health Educator for the Green County Public Health Department and can be reached at bzimmerman@greengountywi.org or 608-328-9509.
