Newswise — NEW YORK — Around the globe, tobacco-related illness kills almost 6 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). May 31 is World No Tobacco Day, an annual event that encourages governments and people everywhere to take steps to reduce tobacco consumption.
In the United States, more than 45 million adults smoke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC reports that nearly 70 percent of these smokers say they’d like to quit the habit. But quitting is hard: the average quit attempt lasts just eight days before a smoker relapses, according to researchers from the University of Vermont.
To help increase the chances of long-term success, public health experts recommend using Monday prompts to help smokers stay quit. “Research shows that Monday is the day people are open to starting healthy behaviors, so it’s a good day to quit, celebrate success and recover from relapses,” says Joanna Cohen, director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Quit & Stay Quit Monday offers free and unique tools and materials to help smokers kick the habit and stay quit for good. Quitters and tobacco cessation groups can now access six months of stop-smoking tips as well as promotional posters at mondaycampaigns.org/stay-quit/.
The tips package is optimized for social media (Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) and includes a brief “how-to” on how best to use the materials, from scheduling regular Monday social media posts to using the promotional posters to increase participation in local cessation groups.
4 Reasons Why Monday is a Great Day to Quit and Stay Quit:
• As the first day of each new week, Monday is a built-in reset on our calendar, a recurring opportunity to start fresh after the weekend and plan for the days ahead.• A survey of state smoking quit-line data showed that Monday is often the most popular day for call-ins, and that there is a jump in call-ins every Monday after weekend lulls.• The majority of those surveyed by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) website Smokefree.gov felt that Monday was the best day to quit smoking.• Organizations such as the NCI have found success using Mondays to encourage participation in smoking cessation programs.
If you’re interested in starting a Quit & Stay Quit program, reach out to us for information at MondayCampaigns.org/Stay-Quit.
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