|
|
||||||||||
|
Do It For One Day – It Could Become A Habit
The Great American Smokeout – November 21, 2013
|
|
SPRINGFIELD
– Make a commitment to quit smoking on Thursday, November 21, as part of the
Great American Smokeout. This is a day when smokers across the nation quit
smoking or make a plan to quit.
“Smoking is the number one cause
of preventable death in the U.S.,” said Illinois Department of Public Health
Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck. “By quitting smoking, you lower your risk for
lung cancer and other types of cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you can quit for just one day, you
may find you can quit for one week, one month, one year, and before you know
it, not smoking is your new healthy habit.”
Smoking is responsible for nearly
1 in 3 cancer deaths, and 1 in 5 deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million
people live with serious illnesses caused by smoking.
Within 20 minutes of the last
cigarette, a person’s blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal and body
temperature in hands and feet increase. Within nine hours of the last
cigarette, the carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal and the
oxygen level increases to normal. After going just one day with smoking, a
person’s chance of a heart attack decreases.
Quitting tobacco use is hard, but
people don’t have to do it alone. The Illinois To¬bacco Quitline, 1-866-QUIT-YES,
has counselors to provide expert advice, addiction assessment, customized
quit plans, quit kits, craving support and follow up. The Quitline is
available anytime between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week, or visit the
website www.quityes.org for help. You
can also find the Quitline on Facebook at Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Illinois-Tobacco-Quitline/653487054671741 and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/QuitYesIL.
The Quitline is funded through the
Illinois Department of Public Health. Alerting the public of this helpful
resource aligns the Illinois Department of Public Health with its strategic
plan to become the state’s public health authority, a place where Illinoisans
can turn for health information and education. For a copy of the strategic
plan, go to http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/StrategicPlan_Final_2014-2018.pdf.
|
Melaney Arnold
Illinois Department of Public Health
Communications Manager
(217) 558-0500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IDPH.Illinois
Twitter: www.twitter.com/IDPH
No comments:
Post a Comment