Quitting Takes Practice... Practice Often!

We’ve all heard the popular adage “practice makes perfect,” and according to the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control, this is especially true when it comes to quitting smoking. Today marks the beginning of National Non-Smoking Week (NNSW), a week-long public education campaign with a history of over 30 years.

The theme this year, “Quitting takes practice…practice often”, encourages smokers to seek out interventions despite failed attempts at quitting. According to the NNSW website, the average smoker has seven quit attempts before they are finally successful. 

The goals of this year’s campaign are to:

• Educate Canadians about the dangers of smoking

• Prevent people who do not smoke from beginning to smoke and becoming addicted to tobacco

• Help people quit smoking

• Promote the right of individuals to breathe air unpolluted by tobacco smoke

• Denormalize the tobacco industry, tobacco industry marketing practices, tobacco products, and tobacco use

• Assist in the attainment of a smoke-free society in Canada

Quitting smoking produces drastic and immediate outcomes, especially when it comes to fighting cancer. Smokers who quit are more likely to recover from cancer, and often respond better to cancer treatment. Continued smoking may reduce the effectiveness of treatment and may worsen the associated side effects. By living smoke free, patients will have more energy to fight cancer, recover faster from cancer treatments, and lower their risk of the cancer returning or developing a second cancer.

To help spread the word, the South West Regional Cancer Program has developed a video to highlight the benefits of quitting smoking:

Are you interested in quitting smoking? Visit the smokershelpline.ca or call 1-800-363-5864 for more information on how to get started.