Kick the habit

New Internationalist, July, 2004

The most effective measures to control tobacco are:

* banning all promotional activity

* restricting smoking in shared public spaces

* continual public health education

* high taxes

* support for quitters

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Quit!

There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. Studies show that smokers compensate for the lower nicotine of 'low tar' cigarettes by taking deeper drags, thus maintaining the usual tar levels. Stopping--no matter how long you've smoked for or how frequently--has only benefits. Of course, it is better to stop as soon as possible. It takes on average 6-8 attempts before the habit is completely broken, so don't be discouraged if the first attempt fails. Many of the organizations in our directory offer tips and help to cope with the withdrawal symptoms.

Web Extra: Read about Thami Maqhubela's struggle to quit at www.newint.org/issue369/suchadrag.htm

Anti-tobacco directory

ASH--Action on Smoking and Health

Each national organization is independent.

ASH Australia www.ashaust.org.au

Tel: 61 2 93341876

ASH Britain www.ash.org.uk

Tel: 44 20 77395902

ASH Ireland www.ash.ie

ASH New Zealand/Aotearoa www.ash.org.nz

Tel: 64 9520 4866

ASH US www.ash.org Tel: 1 202 6594310

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

www.tobaccofreekids.org

Tel: 1 202 2965469

Excellent visual materials on this US group's site.

International Network of Women Against Tobacco www.inwat.org

Tel: 1 732 5499054

US-based network with members in 70 countries dedicated to preventing tobacco use by women.

International Union Against Cancer GLOBALink

www.globalink.org

The main forum for tobacco control advocates--bulging with information.

Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals

www.treatycheck.org/NATT.htm

Worldwide NGO coalition supporting the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Legacy Tobacco Documents Library

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/

The University of California provides access to 7 million industry documents.

Non-Smokers' Rights Association

www.nsra-adnf.ca

Tel: 1 416 9282900

Well-researched tobacco control advocacy, based in Canada.

Quit www.quit.org.uk

Freephone: 0800 002200 for this British group's advice on quitting.

QuitNow www.quitnow.info.au

Hard-hitting Australian site with all the visual evidence on health effects you're likely to want to see.

Research for International Tobacco Control

www.idrc.ca/tobacco

Canadian project that does tobacco control outreach in the Majority World.

Tobacco Control Supersite

http://tobacco.health.usyd.edu.au

A guide through the legal documents and control issues from an Australian perspective.

Tobacco Free Initiative www.who.int/tobacco/en/ World Health Organization initiative--a good source of statistics.

Teen smoking

Most smokers start in their teens. The health warnings can have a hard time getting through to young people for whom the risk of a heart attack or cancer years down the line can seem distant.

When tobacco companies get into education, their efforts are generally useless--giving smoking the cachet of being a forbidden adult activity and making it more appealing to youngsters.

The ideal scenario would be if young people didn't have film starts or adults who smoked to emulate. But, failing that, an approach that exposes how tobacco companies manipulate young people has succeeded where others have not.

This is Florida's Truth Campaign' (www.thetruth.com) and it has recently been in the news because tobacco companies want to stop funding it. They had been forced to provide the cash under the conditions of a 1998 legal settlement.

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31 May--World No Tobacco Day

Time since quitting  Benefits

         20 minutes  Blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal.

            8 hours  Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood
                     reduce by half, oxygen levels return to normal.

           24 hours  Carbon monoxide eliminated from the body. Lungs
                     start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.

           48 hours  No nicotine left in the body. Ability to taste and
                     smell greatly improved.

           72 hours  Breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to
                     relax and energy levels increase.

         2-12 weeks  Circulation improves.

         3-9 months  Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as
                     lung function increases.

             1 year  Risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of
                     a smoker.

           10 years  Risk of lung cancer falls to half that of smoker.

           15 years  Risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone
                     who has never smoked.

Source: ASH UK