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Healthy Arkansas logo, featuring a family running across the state of Arkansas
No smoking!
Smoking Cessation
A healthy lifestyle not only includes eating right and staying active, but also making other healthy choices. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and diseases in our society. By quitting smoking, you can greatly reduce your chances of developing many chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Lots of good food to eat

According to 2003 statistics:

  • 25% of adult Arkansans smoked, compared to 23% nationally.
  • Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women.
  • Annually exposure to secondhand smoke causes an estimated 3,000 deaths from lung cancer.
  • Nearly 70% of the 46.5 million American adults who smoke cigarettes want to quit.


Great American Smokeout

The Thursday before Thanksgiving marks the annual Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society. If you're a smoker make a point to be smoke free for the day. You can quit for a lifetime by starting with just this one day.

 

Tips to Help you Quit

In order to make this the first day of the rest of your life smoke free, the American Cancer Society has provided the following tips to help you quit.

  • Consider using medication to help you quit. There are prescription and over-the-counter medications that can help you deal with withdrawal symptoms or even help to reduce the urge to smoke.
  • Enlist support. Many states, communities, and health care organizations have free or low-cost counseling available to help you quit.
  • Get help or ask for help from your health care provider.
  • Don't keep your intention to quit a secret. Include your friends and family in your quitting process; they can offer much needed support.
  • Clear the places where you usually smoke of anything that reminds you of cigarettes – like lighters, ashtrays, or matches. Also ask other smokers not to smoke around you, and clean your house and car thoroughly to remove the smell of cigarettes.
  • Avoid places where smokers gather. Go to the movies, museums, or other places where smoking is not allowed.
  • Calm the nervous energy you may feel with physical and mental activities. Take long strolls and deep breaths of fresh air, and find things to keep your hands busy, like crossword puzzles or gardening.
  • When the urge to smoke strikes, do something else. Call a supportive friend. Do brief exercises such as pushups, walking up a flight of stairs, or touching your toes. Keep oral substitutes like carrots, apples, raisins, or gum handy. And never allow yourself to think that “one won't hurt,” because it will.

For more information on the Great American Smokeout or help on quitting smoking, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

 

Helpful Hints

Get help, don't do it alone, try the Quit Line at 1-866-NOW QUIT. They have a quit rate for enrollees of 25.5%.

Be patient with yourself; begin thinking of yourself as a nonsmoker.

Keep a positive attitude about yourself and about quitting.