Smoking Cessation: Leave the Pack Behind
“I only smoke at parties or when hanging out with friends”
“I only smoke on the weekends”
“I don’t smoke, I only do hookah because it’s healthier”
Do any of the above sound familiar? Did you know that many young adults who are smokers initially started off as identifying themselves as “social smokers”. Social smokers usually identify as smoking on occasion, when they are at a party or when they are having fun with friends. The majority of these young adults think that they have their smoking under control and will never be addicted. However, “social smoking” can easily escalate to long-term addiction, and before they know it, these young adults are finding themselves smoking on the daily.
Smoking Cessation
Want to quit smoking? There are several resources and tips available for you, which can help you throughout this journey, and take you to a healthier future. When wanting to quit smoking, there are three main factors that you will have to prepare for:
- Set a quit day. This day will be extremely important for you, and probably one of the most difficult days to set. One way of helping with this is to choose a day that is important for you. This could be a particular holiday, special event etc.
- Prepare for the worst. When quitting smoking, you will need to prepare for withdrawal and will also need to resist the cravings and urges to smoke. Below are a few tips that can help with this:
- Drink plenty of water and have lots of healthy snacks around the house.
- Change up your daily routine and make sure to keep busy.
- Seek out support from friends and family. Letting the people around you know that you are quitting is a great way to get support and help keep you on track.
- Consider seeing one of the physicians at the SWC to obtain your free Nicotine Replacement Therapy and to discuss all of your options
- Choose your way to quit. Everyone will go through this journey in their own manor. Some people will seek out group/peer support while others will go through it alone. The main thing to remember is that you are doing this for you, and your journey has to be customized to best be suited for yourself.
Leave the Pack Behind
Researchers at Brock University created a provincial-wide smoking cessation program in order to provide young adults with the resources and support to quit smoking! This campaign is called “Leave the Pack Behind” and can be found on every college and university campus in Ontario. Leave the Pack Behind at McMaster is a peer-to-peer initiative where we can provide various types of support for smoking cessation and lots of information regarding smoking for post-secondary students. Our program is affiliated with the Wellness Education program at the Student Wellness Centre.
If you would like more information on smoking cessation or about Leave the Pack Behind in general – please send us an email at ltpbmcmaster@gmail.com or visit leavethepackbehind.org today!