Butt Out!

Tobacco use is one of Canada’s greatest public health problems. In Canada, tobacco causes over 40,000 deaths each year and is the leading cause of preventable death. Tobacco kills more people in Canada than all the death causes by traffic accidents, suicide, murder, AIDS, and drug abuse combined. The good news is the percentage of daily and occasional smokers in Canada has decreased. The bad news is the thousands of young people especially girls have begun smoking each month.

Why does it seem so hard to stop smoking? It seems hard to stop smoking because smoking causes changes in your body and in the way you act. The changes in your body are caused by addiction to nicotine. The changes in the way you act have formed over time as you used cigarettes. These changes have become your smoking habit. When you have the smoking habit many things seem to go along with having a cigarette. It doesn’t take long before tobacco use is linked with both pleasant and stressful activities and feelings such as coffee after dinner, parties, talking on the phone, boredom, anger, and excitement.

The Butt Out Quit Smoking Program was developed to help Canadian Forces personnel to quit smoking. The program is based on a self - management model of behaviour change. It addresses the physical addiction issue through Nicotine Replacement Therapy and the behaviour/social aspect of the smoking habit is discussed during the program.

 For more information on Butt Out! or other Health Promotion programs and services, please contact your local Health Promotion cell.