Viva Vitality: Changing with the seasons

By Megan Burland on November 1, 2019.

Although the beginning of autumn in southern Alberta brought with it an early dose of winter, fall reminds us how beautiful change can be. Have you been considering making a change to your tobacco use?

I want to first acknowledge that nicotine is highly addictive and that changing tobacco-use behaviours is difficult work. With that said, it is certainly not impossible to quit and many Albertans have already made the move to be tobacco free. A key to behaviour change is to understand your motivations for making a change in the first place. Why are you still reading this column? Maybe something is motivating you to be curious about quitting or reducing tobaccoâ€¦ what is it? Think creatively, be specific and keep your list handy. Some common motivators include health, finances, pets, loved ones and appearance.

Whatever your motivations are, visit albertaquits.ca. There you can access a space to list your reasons/motivations and access a number of online tools that can support the motivations you’ve identified. There are some great tools you can access.

Is saving money a motivator? Calculate your weekly, monthly, yearly and even 10-year savings! I’m willing to bet you’ll be able to think of many other things to spend that money on. You could use some of the savings to reward yourself! Quitting is not always easy and rewarding yourself is a tangible way to help make it feel worthwhile.

What about health? On the website, you can use the tools to see how your body starts to heal itself in as little as 20 minutes after quitting tobacco. Imagine the health benefits you will see after being tobacco free for 5 or 10 years! You even can calculate how much tar you are saving from going into your lungs every year.

Another tool that you may find helpful is the “Tobacco Tracker.” Track your cigarettes for a few days or a week and see what patterns pop up. This will help identify the situations and times to be extra cautious and plan for cravings.

Make a plan, focus in on those motivations and make sure you reach out for support. Visit albertaquits.ca to see the support options available!

Megan Burland is a Health Promotion Facilitator at Lethbridge Community Health Services and can be reached at Megan.Burland@ahs.ca.