Award for stop smoking service - Buxton Advertiser

Published on Thu Nov 04 08:46:29 GMT 2010

STAFF at the Derbyshire County Stop Smoking Service have scooped a national award.

The service was honoured at the Birmingham launch of 2011 No Smoking Day when it was presented with the award for Best Local Media Coverage of its activities for No Smoking Day 2010.

The service was also highly commended for ‘Best Use of the 2010 Break Free Theme’, a symbolic image of arms breaking free from a chain of cigarettes with the slogan “Break Free, We Can Help.”

The service was represented at the event by Stop Smoking and Alcohol Project Co-ordinator Judith Vincent, who received the awards from Under-secretary for Health Anne Milton.

Judith said: “It was a privilege to represent my colleagues at the Derbyshire County Stop Smoking Service at the awards night. The recognition the service received at the event is a tribute to the hard work they put in every day.”

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I can't stop smoking pot - Salon

Dear Cary,

I smoke marijuana every day. There are times when I don't smoke, but I've definitely smoked almost every day for several years. I'm an extremely functional smoker (stoner?) -- I'm in grad school, I have a part-time job, I have a good relationship with my family, I have a social life, etc. I usually smoke alone -- most of my friends don't smoke or only smoke occasionally. I usually wait until later on in the day to get high, but I'll sometimes smoke before I go to school/work/coffee/meet up with friends.

Smoking is relaxing, it's fantastic, I really love getting high. I don't do hard drugs -- I only smoke weed. I've researched the topic and I'm not overly concerned about the health ramifications. [To the people who are rushing to comment that marijuana is VERY HARMFUL (psychosis! cancer! we don't really have proof, but it's terrible for you! etc!) -- please don't waste your time.]

I have a history of depression -- it's genetic and occasionally situational. I'm not severely depressed -- but I definitely have depression that waxes and wanes. I'm sure that I'm partially self-medicating, but as medicines go, weed is a pretty good one. I'm definitely psychologically addicted to marijuana.

My family, employers and some friends would be shocked and upset if they knew how often I smoke. I come from a conservative/religious background and I feel guilty about the tension I've created between my public and private life. I doubt anyone would explicitly say it, but most people I know would prefer that I develop a drinking problem as opposed to being a stoner. More important, they'd prefer I not be addicted to any sort of substance.

I enjoy drinking -- but I enjoy smoking far, far more. When I can't get weed, I use alcohol as a substitute. I've started combining the two -- and my drinking has increased. Smoking weed is great, but having a few drinks and smoking is sometimes even better. I'm concerned that I'm developing a drinking problem. I'm pretty sure that I've flirted with developing a drinking problem in the past, but smoking weed has helped me avoid that. Should I stop drinking? Should I restrict my drinking? How concerned should I be about this whole situation?

I'd really appreciate your advice.

J.

Dear J

How concerned should you be? You should be very concerned. From what you say, it sounds like you're one of us, an addictive person who probably can't stop on his own and is headed for trouble. Look at what you're doing. You're substituting one drug for another. That's a sign. You're doing it every day. That's a sign. You can't stop. That's a sign.

If I were you, I wouldn't even bother to try and stop on my own. I'd just skip that futile step and get into a program.

I mean, sure, you're free to try. But here's the thing. We know an awful lot about this. There are so many of us addicts, and many of us are really smart. We know the ins and outs. We have a vast reservoir of knowledge, firsthand accounts, personal experience, medical data, psychological data, systems, programs, literature, societies, support groups, blogs, forums, meetings, specialists, retreats, rehabs, hospitals, books, tapes, movies ...

This is not some mysterious problem you just came up with. If you walk into the world and say, I'm an addict and I'm asking for help, you are going to be showered with help, perhaps more help than you want, and you are going to have the opportunity to get free of this thing and live well and happily without it.

So, frankly, I think you should just get into a program and skip all the intermediate steps of losing your job, losing your friends, crashing cars, being homeless, going to jail, etc. Why bother? Just get into a program now and stop before you really, really, really have a problem.

I'm speaking from experience. I used to smoke like you do. I hid it and felt guilty about it but I really, really loved it. And I didn't see anything wrong with it except that I was getting addicted to it. But eventually all the normal things happened to me that happen to most people who get addicted to things. I lost jobs, friends, lovers, places to live, clothing, self-respect, health, energy, dreams, reputation. You name it, I lost it. And I didn't have to. If I could have stopped earlier, I wouldn't have had to do that. Of course, there are reasons having to do with character why I didn't stop. And of course there is the fact that I just fucking didn't want to.

But, hey. It doesn't have to be that way. You could get into a program now.

So why not? Why not just say fuck it, it's clear where this is heading, and I don't have to go there.

It's going to be obvious to everybody else around you where this is headed. If you choose to keep going, you're going to be the only one pretending that you don't know where it's headed.

Once you're addicted to something, stuff starts to fall apart. Once you're addicted to something, you're no longer free, and you're no longer present. You're gone somewhere. You begin to lose your life.

That was when I stopped: when I became conscious that I was losing my life. But it took a long time. I was betraying my principles and hiding my real life.

The real damage was that I was losing my self, my soul, this innocent personhood to whom I had pledged myself, that I would be a good person, that I would not be a failure, that I would become good at writing and would be a person I could admire, that I would fulfill some kind of promise.

Where did that promise come from? Where did that inkling of virtue come from? You could call it what you like. You could call it the soul, or the divine, or just innocence, or God, or just moral consciousness, or just man's innate reason. There was a part of me that knew better. And I didn't listen to it for a long time.

But finally things got too bad.

So you could stop before things get there. You could just go to a marijuana addicts anonymous meeting and start listening to people's stories. Many stories start out as yours does. Things change over time. It is hard to maintain an addiction that is steady and does not cause deterioration or does not spread. I think that's because addiction changes your overall habits in life. It tends to take over. It undermines your reasoning and decision-making.

You've got something that you're lying about, that you can't control, that is making you feel guilty, and you don't have to do it.

So I'm going to make this quick because I'm going to the Giants World Series victory parade. You've obviously got a problem. These kinds of problems only get worse without intervention. So go get some help. Stop smoking pot and stop drinking. You'll be glad you did. You'll be re-integrated into your family and your social world, and you won't have to be hiding things, and you'll have more energy and clarity of mind as well.

And don't try quitting alone because that doesn't work. You're going to need help.

So that's my advice. You can stop. You really don't have to do it. You can change your life. And you'll be happier after you do.

Want more?

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UW-Stout peer pressuring students to stop smoking - UW Badger Herald

School officials at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, the only tobacco-free campus in Wisconsin, met Nov. 2 to discuss ways to enforce the ban on tobacco products on campus, when currently the only enforcement measure is peer pressure.

Last year, students at UW-Stout approved a referendum to ban tobacco products on the campus, making it the first smoke-free four-year university in Wisconsin. Favorable votes were tallied at 55 percent of the students involved. The ban was planned to begin Sept. 1.

Doug Mell, a spokesperson for UW-Stout, said that this was the largest turnout for student voting ever on the campus.

Mell said the program is truly only voluntary at the moment. If anyone, student or faculty is seen using tobacco products someone just needs to remind them of the program and ask politely for the person to stop.

Mell said he believes the program is going well, but could be improved. He added both students and people who attended the meeting have reacted positively to the program.

However, some UW-Stout students feel the ban is not successful and should be improved if it is to be present.

“It seems like a joke. Like we’re just trying to get our name out there,” said UW-Stout sophomore Kyle Reich.

Reich said he feels he sees more smokers than before, and the program is failing to control tobacco use.

Mell said advertising for the anti-smoking campaign is extremely prevalent on campus, and there are signs all over telling students about it on every door, in parking lots and posters in hallways.

Freshmen are made sure to know about the policy before enrolling at UW-Stout, as the welcome and preview materials include information, as well as reminders from admissions staff, Mell added.

Mell said he hopes student organizations and statements by students can help push the plan further.

“Students speaking to students have a powerful effect,” Mell said.

Mell added some people at the meeting suggested issuing citations as a future solution for violators.

“Other campuses are watching us. We’re breaking new ground here. We have to do this right,” Mell said.

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Classes to help stop smoking - Shore News Today

Classes to help stop smoking | General - Middle Twp. Gazette @import "http://shorenewstoday.com/plugins/content/jw_disqus/tmpl/css/template.css"; window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : 'YOUR APP ID', status : true, // check login status cookie : true, // enable cookies to allow the server to access the session xfbml : true // parse XFBML }); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); Home Middle Township Middle Township General News Classes to help stop smoking Shore News Today Shore News Today Ocean CityCape MayWildwoodEHTMainlandDownbeach Main MenuShore News Today - HomeOcean CityUpper TownshipMiddle TownshipMiddle Township General NewsMiddle Township EventsMiddle Township Letters to the EditorMiddle Township BusinessSocially StrollingAdopt a PetClassifiedsPrint VersionCape MayWildwoodEgg Harbor Twp.MainlandBrigantineHamilton Twp.Galloway Twp.DownbeachPleasantvilleRegionalSportsPoliticsAround Our TownAdopt A PetHealth & FitnessClassifiedsContact UsAdvertisingSubscribeLoginSponsored LinksBlogsEasy Living14 Days Classes to help stop smoking Written by Staff Reports  Wednesday, 03 November 2010 11:07View Comments

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – The Center for Lifestyle Management has scheduled smoking cessation classes each Wednesday in November from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Thomas & Claire Brodesser, Jr. Cancer Center conference room on the ground floor of Cape Regional Medical Center. The fee for the classes is $25, with a refund of $15 if you attend all of the classes.

“It is hard to try to quit smoking because nicotine is a very addictive drug.  It may take two or three tries before finally being able to quit, but it can be done,” reads a statement about the program.

The Smoking Cessation Program at Cape Regional Medical Center includes education about risk factors for smoking, nicotine replacement alternatives, lung function testing, stress management; dietary concerns regarding weight gain and relapse prevention.

For more information, or to sign up for the program, contact Bonnie Kratzer, RN, at the Center for Lifestyle Management at 463-4043.

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Stop smoking figures rise - Wigan Today

Published on Wed Nov 03 09:54:21 GMT 2010

THE number of people managing to quit smoking in Wigan is on the increase.

Figures from Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Community Healthcare’s Stop Smoking Service revealed that it helped 3,530 people in the borough to stop smoking between April 1 2009 and March 31 2010.

The figure shows that 800 more people successfully managed to quit in 2009/10 than in the previous year.

The 2010 Local Health Profile figures show that in the Wigan, 26 per cent of the adult population smoke, which is more than the national average at 21 per cent.

However in 2003, the earliest figures held my Community Healthcare, 29.5 per cent of people in the borough smoked.

Figures provided by the borough’s Stop Smoking Service show that 43 per cent of all clients who set a date to quit, manage to stop smoking.

Stop Smoking Service Team Leader Nicola Ball said: “Stopping smoking is the single most important thing that you can do to improve your health. It’s really encouraging that more people in the borough are taking the decision to stop smoking.

“I know it’s not easy but thanks to the right help and support more and more people are managing to quit and are reaping the physical and financial benefits of being smoke free.

“You are four times more likely to quit for good if you have the support of the free NHS Stop Smoking Service.”

The Stop Smoking Service provides free specialist support with the aim of reducing smoking related mortality.

The service is able to support clients with long-term health conditions in the community and hospital and also provide specialist support to pregnant smokers.

The Stop Smoking Service has specialist midwives available to offer one-to-one support and advice on nicotine replacement therapy for expectant mothers throughout pregnancy.

The team can offer local, friendly support for people who want to stop smoking through a variety of means including one-to-one sessions, group sessions and by providing advice on nicotine replacement therapy.

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Quit Smoking Before You Start; Or, How to Stop Smoking - Suite101.com

A few centuries after dinosaurs became extinct, somewhere in the 1960’s, my fifth-grade science teacher turned his entire class against smoking in the most effective way I’ve seen to date. Every day, for the entire school year, he fed one cigarette to a glass jar filled with cotton balls. Within a week, those cotton balls weren’t white anymore. By June, all we ten-year-olds saw was a sickening black muck. Point made. That’s what would happen to our lungs after 9 months if we only smoked one cigarette a day. Leaving to our imaginations what could happen if we smoked more. Not one friend from the fifth grade ever smoked cigarettes.

On November 2, 200, Carolyn Clancy, M.D., Director of the United States Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ), made available a release for consumers aimed at helping cigarette smokers end that habit. Dr. Clancy’s article, “Quitting Smoking, You Can Do It,” offers many resources for smokers who have tried to quit, and just couldn’t. Call it an addiction or habit, smoking cessation is not easy.

Though no easy endeavor, Dr. Clancy reports that chances of succeeding, to actually quit smoking, improve when you have help. As her article reports, “[t]obacco users who get counseling, combined with medication and other support, have a much better chance of quitting and staying tobacco-free.”

In this post-dinosaur era, support is growing. In fact, many medical and health plans, including Medicare, cover counseling for smoking cessation. In addition, several resources, including the AHRQ, make helpful information and resources available for smokers who want to kick the habit.

Dr. Clancy offers the following additional resource available on the Internet and by telephone: Smokefree.gov (real-time text messaging with a National Cancer Institute Counselor) or call 1-877-448-7848 to talk with a counselor.

In just a few days, November 18, the United States Great American Smokeout takes place – making this an opportune time to jump on the “no smoking” bandwagon and take advantage of the many resources intended to help smokers shed the costly habit. Dr. Clancy says that now is the best time to quit. Imagine that cotton jar. What do you think your lungs look like?

Imagine your pocketbook in this recession. Instead of running for a cigarette to calm recession-related stress, save that money, and inhale a long deep breath to soothe your anxiety. People who smoke a pack a day will save $1,800 a year.

Dr. Clancy reiterates fairly common knowledge. “Smoking is not only dangerous to your health, but also deadly. Almost one in every five deaths in the United States every year is from tobacco-related diseases. This equals an estimated 443,000 people, and thousands of nonsmokers die annually as a result of secondhand smoke.“

Here’s a daunting question? Which do you think kills more people each year, tobacco, car accidents, suicide, HIV, homicide or illegal drug use? The answer? Tobacco kills more people than all the rest combined – every year.

Set a date to quit. Let your family, friends and colleagues know your plans and ask for their support. Dispose of your cigarettes, and all the accompaniments, such as ashtrays. Create a smoke-free environment at home and do not let others smoke there either.

Medicines such as gum, patches, and lozenges help can help you fight the urge to smoke. Remember that your doctor also can prescribe supportive medications that enable you to step away from that cigarette. Many health insurance plans will cover these medications.

The new health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act requires new health plans to offer improved access to counseling aimed at smoking cessation. Medicare now covers 5.5 million smokers. As of January 1, 2011, Medicare will be required to cover counseling to help those smokers quit at no cost to the smoker, regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with a tobacco-related illness.

As the proven number one cause of disease and death, smokers are learning that their actions affect not only themselves, but those around them, including damaging the health of non-smokers. My grandmother died of emphysema and she never smoked a day in her life. I’ll admit that I’ve been tempted, and then I picture those black, mucky, sticky-gunk of formerly perfectly white cotton balls, after only one cigarette a day, for nine months.

My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Williams, is a hero. It’s not too late to ask for help and be your own hero. No one in their right mind says it’s easy to walk away from that cigarette with your name on it, but it can be easier if you ask for help. And if you know someone who plans to stop smoking, you too can make a big difference by offering support.

“It’s never too late to quit,” says Dr. Clancy. Not as long as you have the breath to do so.

"Quitting Smoking: You Can Do It." Navigating the Health Care System: Advice Columns from Dr. Carolyn Clancy, November 2, 2010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/cc/cc110210.htm

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Runners hold fun run vs smoking - ABS CBN News

MANILA Philippines – Aimed at encouraging chronic smokers to stop smoking through running, the 1st Kick the Habit Fun Run unfolds on November 14 around the Newport City commercial and residential complex near Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

“With 17 million smokers in the country, we hope that our event will raise public awareness of this pressing health issue and encourage them to quit by running,” said race organizer Ronald delos Reyes during Tuesday’s PSA forum at the Shakey’s UN Avenue branch in Manila.

Joining him in the session sponsored by Shakey’s, Pagcor and Outlast battery was co-promoter and Blue Magnet Marketing Solutions marketing director Rommel Bobiles, himself a smoker who used to consume at least 6 packs of cigarettes a day.

“Thanks to running, we’re now down to much less than that daily,” said Bobiles. “And eventually, we want to ultimately quit and kick the habit.”

Bobiles said he teamed up with Delos Reyes “because we believe that running is an ideal vehicle for our advocacy in urging many Filipinos to give up their nicotine fix.”

Unlike other road races, participants in the men’s and women’s 3K and 5K races will not be going for winning times.

Instead, runners will be paired off with smokers, who will be coaxed to end their respective races since their arms are tied to each other.

“Every smoker who wants to quit needs the support of friends and family for him to be able to reach the goal towards a smoke-free life,” both Delos Reyes and Bobiles said. “This is something we want to promote with the 1st Kick the Habit Run.”

There will also be a group category for runners who can form a team of four members each, they added.

A celebrity who credits running for kicking the cigarette habit is actor-magician Bearwin Meily, who will also be joining the event, Delos Reyes said.

He said those interested can still register at the North Face store at the SM North Annex, R.O.X at Bonifacio High Street in the Fort in Taguig City, all Fitness First branches, and Time Depot at the SM Mall of Asia.

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