Cancer Society gives tips to quit smoking in the new year

From losing weight, to drinking more water, to seeing friends more – ’tis the season for New Year’s resolutions.

One of the most common resolutions every year is quitting smoking, and the Canadian Cancer Society wants to help with that one.

Donna Pasiechnik is with the cancer society. She said they have all kinds of resources on their website to help, like The First Week Challenge.

The challenge encourages people to quit smoking for the first seven days of a month, and if they succeed they’re entered to win a $500 gift card.

“We know that if a person is able to quit smoking for seven days, they’re nine times more likely to quit for good,” explained Pasiechnik.

Pasiechnik said three people in Saskatchewan have won the prize in the past few months.

And Pasiechnik said if someone doesn’t manage to quit one month, they can try again the next month.

“I would say, at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. We know that many people make several attempts, but every time you make an attempt to quit, your chances of succeeding become greater.”

The website also has a community of people who have quit smoking and are trying to quit, quit coaches, and other programs like learning to run a 5K while quitting smoking.

Pasiechnik said that even if someone is thinking about quitting, it’s fantastic.

“That is really the first stage in quitting, is to think about it, and to think about the benefits of quitting. And write those down, give it thought, you know ‘why do I want to quit?’ What does it look like?”