This Thursday, November 18th, is the day marked by the American Cancer Society as the Great American Smokeout. A day that is dedicated to encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and quit smoking that day. Worksite wellness programs have long consisted of efforts to help employees quit smoking. The reasons why are numerous and the statistics surrounding smoking and costs to businesses are staggering. For example, a 2009 issue of Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association, reported that tobacco use in the workplace costs U.S. businesses $92 billion dollars per year (1). The report went on to state that the most effective worksite wellness programs were those that targeted individual smokers with group therapy, individual counseling, self-help materials, social support, and pharmaceutical treatment for nicotine addiction combined with worksite policies that banned smoking in the workplace.
If you are a smoker, what do you think about the Great American Smokeout? If you are thinking about quitting smoking, what resources would help you in your workplace?
Please let us know if you are planning to quit smoking or making a plan to quit on November 18th, the Great American Smokeout, with a comment.
And for more information, resources, tips, and tools for quitting smoking, check out the American Cancer Society’s Guide to Quitting Smoking available online at http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/StayAwayfromTobacco/GuidetoQuittingSmoking/guide-to-quitting-smoking-benefits.
1. Circulation. 2009;120:1725-1741.
