Non-Smoking Week
(January 21st to 27th)
January 21st to 27th is non-smoking week. If you are a smoker, do you see this week as a starting point to quit smoking for good?
Let’s start with the facts…
- More than 37,000 people in Canada will die this year due to smoking.1
- Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including at least 70 that cause, initiate or promote cancer such as tar, ammonia, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and benzopyrene. 2
- Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in Canada.3
- There are approximately 5.2 million Canadians aged 12and older who smoke.4
- Every year in Canada, second-hand smoke causes 800 deaths from lung cancer and heart disease in non-smokers.5
Many people continue to smoke because they believe that their smoking hurts nobody but themselves. However, as the last fact mentions, second-hand smoke causes 800 deaths in non-smokers. This means that your loved ones, who have chosen to abstain from smoking can still be affected by it in an extreme way.
Today is the day that you can make the decision, not only for yourselves but also for your loved ones, to quit smoking! The Government of Ontario has many resources available to help you quit on their Support to Quit Smoking page. Check it out to begin your journey to being smoke-free!
Sources
1. Factsheets-Tobacco, Government of Canada
2. Factsheets-Tobacco, Government of Canada
3. The Facts -Tobacco, Lung Cancer and Secondhand Smoke, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
4. Smoking, 2016, Statistics Canada
5. Dangers of Secondhand Smoke, Government of Canada