Friday 24th February
Financially, a pack a day smoker will save around $7,500 each year.
Strawny spoke finances with travel expert, John Joyce... where can this $7,500 take you on holidays.
Cruise to Tahiti for 18 days with an ocean view room and fly home for 2 people or if you are planning a family cruise with the kids, you can book a 4 person cabin for 9 nights on the Pacific for roughly $4,500-$5000 in an ocean view room and meals included and still have spending money remaining from that $7,500.
Singapore and fine accommodation for a week for under $7,000... Fifi, again great accommodation.
Start your journey to quit smoking for good today. To get free information, tools and advice from a community of supporters to help you quit, head to iCanQuit.com.au, or get support and advice from a professional Advisor, call Quitline on 13 7848.
Thursday 23rd February
Today, Triple M Mid North Coast Media Sales Executive and former smoker, Craig, provided us with his take on his prior habit after being clean for 4 years.
He explained that in his generation it was not only parents that smoked influencing his decision, however also National icons at the time, such as Paul Hogan promoting the habit and even GP's.
This view has of course ceased, with the new generation being educated about the negative impact that smoking has and new restrictions being put into place, such as not being able to smoke in restaurants, on a plane, or within meters of an entry way of a motel anymore.
After a number of attempts, Craig slowly decreased the number of cigarettes he was inhaling each day and mentioned that having to exit the building to have a cigarette at work had certainly assisted in him not to smoke during the day.
He did recommend seeing a GP to assist in the process of quitting smoking, who can advise of a new dietary change to compliment this move.
Call Quit Line on 13 78 48 or head to their website to find out more information https://www.icanquit.com.au/ on ways to become a reformed smoker.
Wednesday 22nd February
During Strawny's Breakky Show this morning, Strawny discussed why it's so important to quit smoking with evidence as to why you should give up the habit.
- Smoking increases the risk of many cancers. In NSW, more than one in four male cancer deaths (28%) and one in five (20%) of all female cancer deaths could be attributed to smoking in 2008[i]
- In Australia, up to two-thirds of deaths in current smokers can be attributed to smoking[ii]
- Death rates in current smokers are around three-fold those of people who had never smoked, in both men and women. On average, smokers die around 10 years earlier than non-smoker
- Children in smoking households are more likely to develop asthma and other respiratory conditions[i]. Non-smokers living in a smoking household are 20-30% more likely to develop lung cancer[ii].
It's not an easy task... start your journey to quit smoking for good today. To get free information, tools and advice from a community of supporters to help you quit, head to iCanQuit.com.au, or get support and advice from a professional Advisor, call Quitline on 13 7848.
[i] US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2006/index.htm
[ii] US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia: US Deptartment of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2006/index.htm
[i] Smoking-attributable cancer mortality in NSW, Australia, 1972-2008. Creighton, N, Perez, D and Cotte, T. 2015, Public Health Research Practice, Vol. 25(3):e2531530
[ii] Tobacco smoking and all-cause mortality in a large Australian cohort study: findings from a mature epidemic with current low smoking prevalence. Banks, E, et al. 13:38, s.l. : BMC Medicine, Vol. 2015
Tuesday 21st February
This morning, Strawny spoke with local Health Promotion Coordinator, Trish Davis who has said that in her experience most smokers claim that they would like to quit, with many attempting to quit numerous times before they succeed in quitting for good.
With the information and research available now concerning health repercussions of smoking and ways in which to quit, there is yet to be a common denominator identified among each person that smokes. Numerous factors make each case variably different such as the level of nicotine addiction, which doesn't necessarily mean the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
Trish recommends that if you are looking to start your journey to quitting, to contact Quit Line where highly trained staff and nurses are able to answer any queries you may have and to offer advice on the best possible course of action for you to start. Trish also recommends speaking to your your GP and even Smoking Cessation Specialists as accredited from the Mind Brain Institute at Sydney University, who have the latest information on how to help someone quit.
Start your journey to quit smoking for good today. To get free information, tools and advice from a community of supporters to help you quit, head to iCanQuit.com.au, or get support and advice from a professional Advisor, call Quitline on 13 7848.
Monday 20th February
Make sure you're tuning into Strawny this week to hear his tips on ways to Quit Smoking.
He'll be chatting with a health professional later this week to discuss with us with health benefits of quitting smoking, someone that has quit smoking and he'll also be talking on the impact smoking has on finances.
This morning, Strawny mentioned that he once smoked also and has been clean for 27 years, however freely admits that it was a difficult process and that each person will have different methods to start their process of quitting the habit.
'There are many different methods and strategies that have helped other smokers quit successfully including; going "cold turkey", Nicotine Replacement Therapy, prescription medications, professional support and getting online support (iCanQuit).
For the greatest chance of success, it’s helpful to be open to all the evidence-based quit smoking methods.
By combining willpower with an evidence-based quit smoking method, you’ll have a much better chance of success compared to using willpower alone.
You can find out more about these different strategies and start your own quit plan on the iCanQuit website'.
Start your journey to quit smoking for good today. To get free information, tools and advice from a community of supporters to help you quit, head to iCanQuit.com.au, or get support and advice from a professional Advisor, call Quitline on 13 7848.