CREDIT: JEN DOEDE
Smoking may not be an easy habit to kick to the curb, but there are resources to help everyone out. The Leave the Pack Behind program is one of those resources to give you the strength to say goodbye to smoking

According to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, addiction and mental illness can cut 10-20 years off a person’s life expectancy. Smoking is one of the most common and widely accepted addictions.

Experts say there’s no single factor in predicting whether or not someone is more likely to become a smoker, but there is a combination of factors that can influence risk, the more factors the higher the risk. Smoking affects the cardiovascular system, skin, and relationships. Withdrawal symptoms can be very hard; some people experience headaches, nausea, short temper and irritability.

People quit smoking due to a concern for their health, or because they’ve seen the effects of tobacco disease in their family, perhaps it’s to be a role model, or to be physically attractive, money can also be a big incentive as cigarettes are expensive.

Heather Travis, the manager of Leave The Pack Behind (LTPB) headquarters at Brock University, spoke with Interrobang about her experience with smoking.

“I started smoking when I was 15 and quit when I was 21. I was a pack a day smoker studying community health promotions when [I finally realized], ‘how can I be studying health promotions and still be smoking?’ My sister was smoking and I thought, ‘well I’d better be a good role model for my younger sister’. And I liked this guy, who I ended up marrying, and he was a non-smoker. It was a constellation of factors that made me realize ‘I can’t do this’, and it was a lot of money,” said Travis.

LTPB services all young adults in Ontario 18-29 years old, on and off-campus. They run contests for everyone, not just smokers; non-smokers, and former smokers can also enter to win the annual $5000 prize. The contest was designed to help people quit smoking, reduce how much they smoke, or to celebrate being smoke-free. To enter go to wouldurather.ca.

Patti Martinez, a social worker and Fanshawe alumna part of the personal and academic counseling team in the counselling office F2010, discussed how services are offered to students struggling with tobacco addiction. They provide same-day short triage appointments for students in crisis, assessing the need, and connecting the person to supports in the community.

What made you want to smoke? What made you want to quit? These are all things a counsellor can help answer for you, as well as how to develop new coping techniques. “It’s about managing the stress of not smoking. If you don’t have enough coping mechanisms the person is going to relapse,” said Martinez.

There are widely available smoking cessation programs that offer nicotine replacement therapy options (patch/gum) free. “If we pretend it’s going to go away on its own, we’re going to be waiting a long time. Early intervention is often the key,” said Martinez.

The Crisis Centre in London, Centre of Hope, and Alcoholics Anonymous are all resources available for people looking to get help. Another resource in the community for men suffering from more hard-core addictions is the Mission Services Quintin Warner House, a provincial men’s residential centre.

Jon DeActis, director of admissions, spoke to Interrobang about the services they offer to 18-29 year old men; providing group therapy, individual therapy, relapse prevention.

A big challenge for people in recovery is to quit smoking. For over a year now the Quintin Warner House has become a tobacco free program, but DeActis explained that many of the men go back to smoking once they leave the program. There are also some people who actually won’t come to the Quintin Warner house for treatment for their other problems because they don’t want to give up smoking cigarettes.

Canada has been a well-known tobacco control advocate using packaging warnings and high rates of tobacco taxation. The province of Ontario has also done its part to reduce tobacco use by passing the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, establishing new smoke-free area requirements as well as new regulations limiting the sale of tobacco. According to Statistics Canada roughly half a million people were able to quit smoking from 2012-2014.

Quitting smoking may take several attempts and it’s a learning process but remember; getting off cigarettes is better than being on them.

For more information, please visit:

wouldurather.ca

www.leavethepackbehind.org

Centre of Hope: centreofhope.ca

Alcoholics Anonymous: aalondon.org

Crisis Centre: cmhamiddlesex.ca 519-434-9191

Fanshawe Counselling Service F2010: E: counselling@fanshawec.ca T: 519-452-4282

Mission Service Quintin Warner House: missionservices.ca/shelter-programs/quintin-warner-house 519-434-8041

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