The Great American Smokeout is an event that challenges current tobacco users to stop using tobacco – even for just one day. The event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society yearly on the third Thursday in November. This year the Great American Smokeout is November 19th.
There are many resources available to help you quit. Telephone smoking-cessation hotlines, such as the Pennsylvania Department of Health Free Quitline, this is a free and easily accessible service available to tobacco users.
Some ways to help you successful quit are:
- Set a quit date and stick to it!
- Discussing quit options with your physician is a great place to begin, as your physician can discuss prescription treatment options including medicine to lessen cravings and nicotine replacement options appropriate for you.
- Tell your family and friends that you plan to quit, the quit date and ask for support.
- Plan for challenges know what triggers the urge to smoke during your day so you can address them by doing something different. The urge to smoke usually lasting only last three to five minutes, have a plan for when the cravings hit such as chewing gum, having a piece of hard candy, drinking water may help you.
- Most importantly don’t have the cigarettes and other tobacco products readily available. Remove them from your home, car, and workplace. Also the smell of old cigarette odors can cause cravings, so give these areas a good cleaning.
- For more support, use the resources available to you. For more information go to: http://pactonline.org/quit-smoking/
