World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on the 31st of May. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. The day is further intended to draw attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to more than 7 million deaths each year worldwide, including 600,000 of which are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
World No Tobacco Day 2018 will focus on the impact tobacco has on the cardiovascular health of people worldwide. Tobacco causes over 2 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases every year. Reducing tobacco use promotes global health and boosts development. Hundreds of millions of tobacco users are unaware tobacco causes heart disease.
I recently interviewed a tobacco users who is thankful to have finally quit. Here is what she had to say about her addiction to tobacco and her journey to a new tobacco free life. She stated that she was 17 years old when she started smoking and had continued to smoke over the next 18 years. When asked what influenced her decision to start smoking she said it was mostly everybody she hung out with was smoking and she figured it was the cool thing to do. She went on to say the hardest part about quitting was getting in the right frame of mind to actually take the first step. “I had to make a cognitive decision that it was time to give it up.” A combination of things to help her quit that were most helpful were the nicotine patch, gum and sunflower seeds. “I also made a list on a notecard with my Top 5 Reasons to Quit and kept it right with my debit card as a deterrent to not buy another pack.” She went on to say the positive side of quitting is no more coughing in the morning and not have a “froggy” sounding voice. Spending more time with her kids as opposed to smoke breaks and more energy are added bonuses. When asked if she had any advice for a current smoker she replied “Everyone has slip ups, don’t let that get you down. Try again, and again and again. Quitting is a decision that you won’t regret! “
If you are a current tobacco user and are ready to call it quits, call the Montana Quit Line at 1-800-Quit-Now or the Richland County Health Department for more information.
Tobacco breaks hearts. Choose health, not tobacco.
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