Wow I've been slacking on these, my apologizes (life is just INCREDIBLY hectic).
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| From the American Cancer Society |
36 year's ago the American Cancer Society began a campaign to educate Americans on the hazards of smoking and encourage Americans to become smoke free, and the Great American Smokeout was born. The official day is November 17th however it has become a month wide effort to end smoking in America. The American Cancer Society encourages every smoker to quits smoking on November 17, 2011 in the hopes that they wont pick up the habit back up the next day. The American Cancer Society recognizing that quitting smoking is by far one of the hardest things people can do so the American Cancer Society provides both the information on how to quit and the support to make it happen. Not only should Americans quit smoking cigarettes but also they should quit using chewing tobacco, "dip", and all other tobacco products.
Here are some of the reasons you or a loved one should quit smoking (information from the American Cancer Society):
-When you quit smoking your heart rate and blood pressure will begin to drop in the first 20 minutes
-"Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in
half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risk
can fall to that of a non-smoker after 2-5 years" will begin to decrease after 5 years of your last cigarette
-If you smoke 2 packs of cigarettes every day for 365 days you will smoke over 14600 cigarettes and spend an average of $3,650 in one year on ciagarettes!
-You will live longer and be able to spend more time with your families.
More information can be found here: http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/StayAwayfromTobacco/GreatAmericanSmokeout/
So how else is the American Cancer Society trying to make America smoke free, through the efforts of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network's (ACS CAN) Smoke Free Campaigns. These campaigns occur both on the local and state levels to get towns, cities, counties and states smoke free. ACS CAN has helped create 100% smoke free workplaces, restaurants and bars in the following states:
Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Main, Maryland (my home state!), Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. AND the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico! That means that almost HALF of the United States Population is protected!!
There are 12 other states that have at least one of those three places as designated as 100% smoke free. Virginia (my new state of residency) is working towards having restaurants and bars 100% smoke free by taking the step towards creating more spaces within the location smoke free (e.g smoking in rooms only with separate ventilation or outdoors), but hopefully with the help of "Smoke Free Virginia Now!" and ACS CAN this can be achieved in the coming years.
Want to get your state smoke free? Support ACS CAN and reach out to your local legislators about how you want a smoke free environment for everyone!!
Look what the students at Oklahoma State University are doing to ensure that their campus continues to stay tobacco free:
We could all take a lesson from them!
Why am I so passionate about getting more Americans to quit smoking? I lost my a grandfather in 2001 to lung cancer, and because of that I believe no one should lose a family member to a preventable disease. Also, I have asthma and I am allergic to tobacco which means that every time I breath in second hand smoke I run the risk of being hospitalized with a severe asthma attack. It's not fair to myself and others who have asthma that we have to avoid certain places and people to for our own safety - this doesn't just happen when walking down the street, I have had to avoid rides at amusement parks because they don't have a no smoking policy on their grounds. I hope that by the time I have children they don't have to worry about where they go just so they can breath clean air.
I apologize if I offended anyone with this post, since it is by far one of the most personal ones I have written lately, but for me this is a very personal issue. Yes I completely understand how difficult is in to stop smoking, I may not have been around my grandfather often but I am completely aware of how difficult it was for him to try to quit smoking even while he was undergoing cancer treatment (unfortunately he was not able to quit). I by no means think that you can just wake up tomorrow and not be a smoker anymore, I just believe that with help from friends, family and resources like the American Cancer Society you can live a healthier life and quit smoking. So join me in talking to friends and family about the benefits of kicking the habit this month and start their New Year's resolutions early!
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Until We Find a Cure
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