Monday, January 11, 2010

No Smoking Week Jan 18- 23

What have you got to lose?
Besides being terrible for your health, did you know smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable home fire deaths?

National Non-Smoking Week
was started about 30 years ago in Canada by the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control. The goals of National Non-Smoking Week are:

* To educate people about the dangers of smoking.
* To prevent non-smokers from picking up the habit.
* To help people quit smoking.
* To promote the right of every individual to breath clean, unpolluted air.
* To help make our society smoke-free.


Why is smoking so bad?

Tobacco use is the main cause of preventable disease, disability and premature death in North America. If you’re exposed to second-hand smoke (smoke from a smoker’s cigarettes), you may also have risks to your health, including a greater chance of getting bronchitis, penumonia, ear infections and asthma.

How to help someone quit smoking

If someone you know needs to quit smoking, there are things you can do to help them:

* Tell them how much you love them and how proud of them you’ll be if they stop smoking.
* Tell them about some of the ingredients in a cigarette – acetone (found in nail polish remover), ammonia (found in cleaning products), rat poison – and ask them if they would drink those poisonous things on their own.
* Whenever they are smoking, ask them to stop and, if they won’t, move to another room or go outside.
* Tell them about Quitline Iowa- a free service to help those interested in quitting smoking.
www.quitlineiowa.org or 1-800-quitnow (1-800-784-8669)

The Van Buren Middle School JEL will have a tobacco display at the Van Buren High School during the home basketball game on Tuesday, January 19th in honor of National No smoking week. Come check it out.

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