National Non-Smoking Week – 19-25 January 2014
Mid-January is the perfect time to revisit your New Year’s resolutions. If you’ve already let them slip, don’t worry too much as it is never too late to begin a life altering change to any bad habit. If one of your resolutions is to quit smoking, this is a good time to start as National Non-Smoking Week (NNSW) is January 19 to January 25.
National Non-Smoking Week is a yearly event in Canada. Since 1977, it continues to be observed on the third full week of January. Canada is a world leader in tobacco control. Smoking is at an all-time low in Canada and the number of Canadians that smoke on occasion has dropped to 17%. As well, the rate of Canadians who smoke on a daily basis is even lower at 14%.
Despite this achievement, tobacco use continues to be the most important cause of premature death in Canada. It is a leading cause of preventable lung disease, including lung cancer, and is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It has negative effects on nearly every organ of the body and is responsible for more than 37,000 premature deaths every year in Canada.
Not to mention… smoking is a very expensive habit. Are you a millionaire? Maybe not… then why not quit today?
“Weedless Wednesday” is on 22 Jan 2014
The Wednesday of National Non-Smoking Week is termed “Weedless Wednesday”.
Quitting smoking may be easier said than done, right? A great suggestion is to take advantage of “Weedless Wednesday” to kickstart the process of quitting smoking.
Top Tips for Quitting Smoking
According to the Canadian Centre for Tobacco Control (CCTC) some of the top tips for quitting smoking include:
- writing a “break-up letter” to tobacco
- keeping track of when and why you smoke each cigarette
- making it public, by declaring your intentions to your family and friends
- using the 4-D method when you feel a craving for a cigarette:
- take deep breaths,
- drink water,
- distract yourself, and
- delaying. (Realize that the craving will pass)
- managing stress in ways other than with cigarettes
- rewarding yourself
- reminding yourself of all the good that you’re doing by quitting
Reference: http://www.alive.com/posts/view/219/let_national_non-smoking_week_help_you_quit_smoking
The Library has Smoking Cessation Resources
RRC Library has many smoking related items in its collection, including many self-help books on the topic of quitting smoking.
Check out some of the items that are currently on display in the Notre Dame Campus window display.