Is someone you know ready to quit smoking?
Someone you know has decided to quit!
As an organization that promotes health, the number one thing we can recommend to improve health is to get people to quit smoking.
To have the best chance of helping someone to quit and stay quit, you need to know what you’re up against, what the options are and help them choose a method that would be best for them and a good place to start is with the Canadian Cancer Society’s One Step at a Time: Help Someone Quit . It is very difficult for most smokers to quit. Cigarettes are designed to deliver nicotine, the addictive substance in cigarettes, very quickly to the brain where it makes the body physically dependent on it.
In addition to physical dependence, the behaviour of smoking becomes a habit over time. The longer a person smokes, the more their daily activities and moods become linked to their smoking habit and the harder it may be to give it up. Quitting smoking is not easy, but it is possible.
Suggestions to help people quitting smoking succeed:
- Access self-help materials like the Canadian Cancer Society's One Step at a Time: Help Someone Quit booklet.
- Ask a health care provider to help develop an action plan.
- Seek counselling from an experienced counsellor in helping people stop smoking.
- Try a treatment program sponsored by hospitals or other organizations in the community.
- Consider using a medication, such as prescription medication or nicotine replacement therapy.
Quit smoking online resources:
For Everyone:
Health811
Connect with a registered nurse day or night for free, secure and confidential health advice.
Smokers' Helpline
Canadian Cancer Society
Offers free personalized tools to help people quit successfully.
For Teenagers:
Quit4Life
Health Canada
Information about quitting smoking for those between the ages of 12-18.
For Pregnant Women:
Pregnets
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Information about smoking and pregnancy for pregnant women and healthcare providers. Offers an online support group.