La Gang Allumée du Collège Charlemagne 2013 – As-tu du feu?
This video, produced by a group of students out of Quebec, Canada, is an effort to help smokers quit.
We hope you enjoy!
May 8
Smoking and Exam Stress
Healthy Breaks
Studying for Finals? Stressing over upcoming exams? How do you spend your study breaks?
With increased stress comes increased cigarette cravings. Not an ideal situation if you’re trying to quit smoking.
Healthy studying comes with a 15-20min break every hour to hour and a half depending on your attention span. Instead of having a smoke every break or every other break, try to center the quick break on something healthy.
Make a schedule of breaks. One break, cut up veggies and have a snack. Another break could include some stretches. Perhaps you could use one break to read a chapter of a book or watch half a tv episode. Whatever helps you relax for a bit before refocusing your energy back on studying. It is ok to acknowledge that you may need a smoke break. But it doesn’t have to be every time you take a break. Keeping yourself busy and focused on other things could help.
Healthy breaks will also help you manage exam stress without causing more harm to your body.
-Michelle
New Video: Social Smoking and….Social Farting?
Below is a video recently released by the Ontario Ministry of Health that looks at the idea of a “social smoker.”
What is a social smoker? Someone who only smokes when they are with other people? Or maybe it’s someone who only smokes when they are in a certain situation? What defines the line between a “social smoker” and a plain old “smoker?”
Watch the video below and let us know what you think? Do you smoke? Do you consider yourself a “social smoker?” Where would you draw the line between “social smoking” and “smoking?” Even if you are not a smoker, we would love to hear your opinion on social smoking!
Natalie
Cigars + Kitty Litter
Check out this article!!
This is a prime example of how tobacco companies are consistently being creative in their product design strategies in order to exploit government loopholes!
This is why it is so important that anti tobacco activists promote the denormalization of tobacco use; in order to combat the profit-centred efforts that tobacco companies make!
-Aaron Yanofsky
Getting to Know the British Columbian Smoker
British Columbia has been known to have some of the lowest smoking rates in Canada and is often celebrated because of its healthy lifestyle. However, there is still room for improvement in this western province! The B.C Lung Association found some inspiring statistics when they surveyed British Columbian smokers. The official report is called Making Quit Happen: Canada’s Challenges to Smoking Cessation.
- 81% of BC smokers have tried to quit smoking; the average number of attempts was 7
- When asked to rate their desire to quit on a scale (1 meaning they did not want to be smoke-free and 10 meaning they definitely did want to be smoke free) the average was 7.2
- 77% are concerned about the health impacts of smoking
- 89% believe that quitting is possible
So what’s holding them back? There are the obvious reasons, such as the habits and cravings, but the report also discovered a less apparent cause- one that takes into account the role of the physician.
- 84% of BC smokers believe that their doctor should help with the quitting process
- However, only 38% of British Columbians discussed quitting with their doctors, and less than 20% conversed about cessation with another health care professional, in the past two years
- Merely 4% of BC doctors are trained in smoking cessation counselling and only 9% of those physicians are reimbursed for their efforts
The recommendation to fix this issue is to circulate more smoking cessation training to health care professionals, especially in areas with high smoking rates. This report also included other tips that could significantly increase the number of quitters in British Columbia, for example lowering costs of cessation medication and expanding access to cessation programs.
So while BC is leading the pack in many regards, this beautiful province still has the ability to improve tremendously in their smoking related efforts.
-Maggie
To read the full report, visit http://www.bc.lung.ca/smoking_and_tobacco/smoking_cessation.html
Cigarette Effects on Women
Recently, The Province (a newspaper in British Columbia) published an article on a study regarding the health effects of cigarettes on women. This new study involved over 100,000 women in a huge U.S. Nurses’ Health Study, most of who were healthy, and Caucasian. The analysis set out to discover how
the health of a female smoker was affected, although there is no data on how different ethnic groups could be affected. This study was the first of its kind to attempt to find this data.
There was a substantial amount of information gathered. The research noted that even a “small-to-moderate” quantity per day (1-14 cigarettes) could nearly double the chances of sudden cardiac death or cardiac arrest. The data showed that the longer a woman smoked, the health risks increased. For
example, 5 years of continuous smoking was related to an 8% increase in the chances of dying of cardiac arrest. Every year in Canada, around 40,000 people suffer a fatal heart attack.
This study also tried to find the relationship between smoking and cardiac arrest. The researchers noted all of the 101,018 women involved who were free of the known cardiovascular disease, and provided them with a questionnaire every 2 years to discuss their current medical health. After 30 years, 351 participants died of cardiac sudden death.
If you would like to read more about this topic, check out the original article with the link provided below!
-Maggie
“Smoking ‘rots’ brain”
There are a plethora of health issues linked to tobacco use, but the fact that smoking can ‘rot the brain’ is a newer area for me. I would hate to do anything to damage my cognitive functioning, so this was an interesting read for me!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20463363
Have you heard about research like this before? What are your thoughts?
-Katie H.
Is Smoking a Deal Breaker?
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on my biggest likes and dislikes in the dating world. I’ve learned that I really value and admire individuals who adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviours such as working out, cooking healthy (and delicious) meals and taking time for personal well-being.
My friend and I were talking about her recent love interest; a tall, handsome, nice, athletic McGill student who I’d met at the gym a few times. From my perspective, he seemed like a good catch.
“Oh, he’s great!” she said, “But he smokes – it’s a deal breaker.”
I started to think about whether this was true for my dating life. Was smoking a deal breaker for me too? What if someone only smoked socially, did it make a difference?
There have been several polls by magazines and dating sites asking, “Would you date a smoker?” Bad breath, smelly clothes and exposure to second hand smoke are several reasons why individuals reported smoking as a turn off. Although a smokers and non-smokers alike may have wonderful (or not so wonderful) qualities, I also recognize the need to maintain my values and expectations for individuals in my personal life. Whether or not smoking is a deal breaker – that remains to be tested!
How important is a smoking/non-smoking status in your potential or current partner?
More Information on E-Cigarettes
As Laura and Maggie said in their blog post in October (http://bettertobreathe.com/2012/10/15/e-cigarettes/), “What is this mystery chemical and how does it effect both the user and bystanders? “, is definitely a question we should be considering a bit more before reaching a final verdict about Electronic Cigarettes. An article (or articles, though they all basically have the same information, all of which I’ll include links to at the bottom) I’ve recently found talk about a questionable effect of ‘smoking’ E-Cigs.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Athens (Released by the European Respiratory Society’s Annual Congress in Vienna, September 2nd, 2012), which included 8 non-smokers, 24 smokers, 11 with normal lung functions, and 13 people with lung problems, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Asthma. Each person was given an E-cigarette to use for 10 minutes. The researchers measured their airway resistance with a number of tests (including a spirometry test). It was found that after the tests were done, that the E-cigarettes caused an immediate increase in airway resistance for the healthy subjects (non-smokers), and an increase for the smokers with a normal spirometry test. The subjects with Asthma or COPD showed no immediate problems.
While we’re nowhere near fully answering the question of how they affect the users, we know that they might not be as safe as they’re marketed.
-Tuqqaasi
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249784.php
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197430/Electronic-cigarettes-damage-lungs-cause-oxygen-absorbed-blood.html#axzz2JfiGlFWl
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120902113550.htm
Smoking in 2013
“Tobacco continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in Canada; more than
overweight and obesity, physical inactivity or high blood pressure. More than 37,000
Canadians will die prematurely this year due to tobacco use. Each day, 100 Canadians die
of a smoking-related illness.”
The University of Waterloo recently published a 2013 edition of a report compiling data and analyzing the patterns and trends of tobacco use in Canada. The report not only looks at cigarette consumption, but also quitting behaviors, percentages, and the use of cessation assistance. Although “the majority (59%) of Canadians who have ever been smokers have now quit” and “nearly half of smokers tried to quit in the past year”, tobacco related deaths are still high.
Looking at the truth behind smoking and smoking cessation in Canada.
Report (and quotes) can be found at:
http://www.tobaccoreport.ca/2013/TobaccoUseinCanada_2013.pdf
-Michelle
