CALGARY – May 31 is World No Tobacco Day, when global health organizations, including Alberta Health Services (AHS), increase awareness about the health impacts of tobacco use.
Every year, more than 4,000 Albertans die because of commercial tobacco use, while tens of thousands more Albertans have serious tobacco-related illnesses. Tobacco and tobacco-like products can cause lung, heart, fertility and other health problems.
If you want to cut down on your tobacco use but don’t want to quit:
- Lower the number of cigarettes or other tobacco products you use.
- Add more time between cigarettes or tobacco products.
- Smoke or use tobacco only during odd or even hours.
- Limit your smoking or using tobacco to certain places.
- Wait as late in the day as you can before use.
If you are ready to quit:
- Create a quit plan. AlbertaQuits.ca has a Tobacco Change Plan to help you quit.
- Make a list of reasons to quit smoking or using tobacco and reflect on them.
- Set a quit day. Think about when your quit date should be. Try within the next three weeks. Let someone close know you are making a quit attempt. Try to have your quit day when your stress levels are lowest.
Here are more resources to help you quit:
- AlbertaQuits.ca provides information and tools to prepare for your quit.
- Talk to a counsellor at the AlbertaQuits helpline (1-866-710-7848). Free for all Alberta residents, it's open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
- Register for QuitCore, a free virtual or in-person group support program that provides Albertans (18+) with the tools and skills they need to quit using tobacco.
- Ask your doctor or other healthcare provider for one-to-one tobacco counselling.
- Sign up for AlbertaQuits by Text. It's a free, three-month text messaging program that delivers motivational messages, advice and tips to your cell to help you quit. Text the word ABQUITS to number 123456 to register.
- Get 24/7 support through the Addiction Helpline, 1-866-332-2322, or Health Link at 811.
- Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medications that can help you quit.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.
