Northern Health nurse says most smokers want to quit

It may be the most common New Year’s resolution.

Quitting smoking is a goal many people strive to achieve, especially in northern BC.

According to Northern Health‘s Regional Nursing Lead for Tobacco Reduction, Nancy Viney, the smoker rate in the north is around 20%, which is 6% higher than the rest of the province.

This number could become a lot lower though, as Viney explains.

“Most tobacco users do want to quit,” she says.

“If they’ve had experiences trying to quit and weren’t successful, maybe cutting down could be a good strategy.”

Another issue facing smokers is the impending legalization of marijuana in Canada, set for July 2018.

Viney is reminding people marijuana smoke is not a safer alternative to tobacco.

“In no way are we saying that it’s a safe product that doesn’t affect your own health or the health of others,” explains Viney.

“Marijuana smoke is different than tobacco smoke but it still contains a lot of the carcinogens that cause health problems.”

Viney lists nicotine patches and gum, inhalers, and lozenges as good ways to start becoming less dependent on tobacco.