KFL&A Public Health celebrates National Non-Smoking Week

KINGSTON— In celebration of National Non-Smoking Week from January 21-27, 2018, KFL&A Public Health is encouraging local residents to quit smoking and to share their personal quitting stories on social media by tagging them with #QuitStories.

Britney, a #QuitStories participant, was not ready to quit as a young adult watching her grandmother dying of lung cancer related to her smoking.  Years later, she knew she had to quit when her 2-year-old son started noticing her smoking behaviour.  “I was planning on having another child and I just knew that I couldn’t smoke anymore.  I didn’t want my children to remember me as a smoker or thinking it was ok to smoke.”  “I smoked my last cigarette and on January 17, and then my pregnancy test was positive later that week.  He was the best reason why I quit smoking.”

Britney is just one of many community members who shared their #QuitStories with others. “We know that hearing people’s stories about how smoking affected their health motivates others to try to quit,” said Nicole Szumlanski, RN, Public Health Nurse.  “The skills that people build and the support that they receive from health care professionals and family while quitting can also increase people’s chances of quitting for good.”

National Non-Smoking Week has been observed during the third week in January for more than 38 years.  While Ontario has an all-time low smoking rate of 16.5%, there are still thousands of local residents who continue to smoke, increasing their risk for developing major health effects, including: cancer, heart disease, lung disease, stroke, or other complications. 

The #QuitStories campaign continues through 2018 and related videos and cessation resources can be found by visiting www.kflaph.ca/quitstories. Media are invited to speak with the participants and to hear more about their stories.

For help or additional resources to quit smoking:

• call the Tobacco Information Line at KFL&A Public Health (613-549-1232, ext. 1333) or the Smokers Helpline (1-877-513-5333), or
• visit: www.kflaph.ca/quitstories. 

-30-