National Non-Smoking Week is Jan. 21-27, and Alberta Health Services (AHS) says it has programs and services to help Albertans stop using commercial tobacco products.
These services include:
- Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medications that can help you quit.
- Visit AlbertaQuits.ca for information and tools to prepare you to quit.
- Talk to a counsellor at the AlbertaQuits helpline (1-866-710-7848). Free for all Alberta residents, it’s open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
- Sign up for AlbertaQuits by Text. It’s a free, three-month text messaging program that delivers motivational messages, advice and tips to your cell to help you quit. Text the word ABQUITS to number 123456 to register.
- Sign up for QuitCore, a group support program that provides individuals with the strategies and skills they need to quit tobacco while connecting them with others who are also trying to quit. This program is offered in person and virtually.
AHS says quitting is one of the most important things anyone can do to improve health and lower the risk of disease. According to healthcare experts, every year, more than 4,000 Albertans die because of tobacco use, while tens of thousands more Albertans have serious tobacco-related illnesses that greatly affect their quality of life. AHS says tobacco products can cause lung, heart, fertility and other health problems.
Officials say commercial tobacco use (such as cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco) is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability and premature death in Alberta, and increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, oral cancers, chronic lung disease, diabetes and other illnesses. Experts say it may take several quit attempts to succeed.
AHS says Albertans ages 50 to 74 who smoke cigarettes, or who’ve quit after smoking for many years, may also be eligible for lung cancer screening. Albertans are encouraged to talk to their primary care provider, call 1-866-727-3926, or visit screeningforlife.ca/lung for more information.
Comments