Quit with the Great American Smokeout

Newswise — NEW YORK, November 7, 2018 – On November 15^th, the American Cancer Society will rally thousands of smokers to make the Great American Smokeout “Day 1” of their journey to quit for life.  

To support the campaign, Quit & Stay Quit Monday, an initiative of The Monday Campaigns and the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, are introducing a new “Monday Quit Kit” for individuals and tobacco cessation professionals that can help quitters stay on track over the long haul. The idea is for quitters to use every Monday after “Day 1” to recommit to their quit, celebrate progress, and quit again if they relapse.

Quit & Stay Quit Monday is supported by research conducted by Johns Hopkins showing that people are predisposed to taking healthy actions at the beginning of the week, including seeking out help for quitting smoking.  A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine (JAMA) found that more people conduct Google searches about quitting smoking on Monday than any other day of the week, amounting to 8 million more searches across six different languages.

“Tapping into this collective mindset can impact programs designed to encourage quitting,” said Joanna Cohen, PhD, Director of Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Global Tobacco Control. “Smoking cessation organizations and individuals looking to quit may benefit from shifting to weekly cues to increase the number of quit attempts people make each year,” Cohen added.

How Quit & Stay Quit Monday Can Help

Quit & Stay Quit Monday supports individual quitters and tobacco cessation professionals in leveraging the Monday Approach. The campaign offers weekly tips and tools for individual quitters and a free program enhancement guide for organizations with step-by-step instructions on incorporating the Monday Approach into their cessation program.  The Monday Campaigns and Johns Hopkins also offer technical assistance to organizations wanting to implement and evaluate the program.

“Monday is a great strategy to sustain annual events like the Great American Smokeout,” says Peggy Neu, President of the Monday Campaigns. “It’s like a mini-New Year’s which gives people 52 chances a year to stay on track with their health goals.  And if you slip up, which most people do, there’s always another Monday right around the corner.”

For more information on Quit & Stay Quit Monday, visit www.iquitmonday.org. Organizations and individuals can also sign-up for Quit & Stay Quit Monday’s newsletter to receive free weekly tips to quit smoking or follow the initiative on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to stay connected.

About Quit & Stay Quit Monday Quit & Stay Quit Monday is an initiative of The Monday Campaigns, a public health initiative associated with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. For more information on the Monday Campaigns, including research supporting the use of Monday as a behavior change strategy, visit www.mondaycampaigns.org. 

# # #