As you make your New Year’s Eve plans, maybe start thinking about your New Year’s Day plans too. New year = a new you = no more smelly breath / clothes, cigarette bills, or airing out your car before non-smokers get in. Because you’ll be on your way to being a non-smoker too! You can do it!
Check out our new infographic to see how 2016 can be the start of your smoke-free life.
You may have thought about quitting in the past – you may have even tried to kick the habit already. Or, maybe you think about quitting sometime in the future, when the time is ‘right.’
Photo credit: Adrian Berg
Here are three reasons why the time is Now:
Studies show that ex-smokers who quit before the age of 35 can regain a similar lifespan as a non-smoker.[1] Now is the time to quit.
Even if you’re older than 35, all is definitely not lost. Your body begins to recover within minutes after putting down your last cigarette.[2] Your blood pressure and accelerated heart rate from smoking begin to return to normal in just 20 minutes after smoking.[2, 3] Just a couple of days without a cigarette allows the nerve endings in your fingertips to recover. Depending on how much you smoke, within a year of being smoke-free, your risk of sudden death by heart attack is reduced by half.[2, 4] It can be amazing how much and how quickly your body can recover! (See more in our article: Benefits of Quitting Smoking) Who can say no to that!
You probably don’t want to hear this, but as tough as it may be to think about quitting now, it will only get harder the older you get. Young adults 18 to 24 years old have a higher success rate of quitting than any other age group.[6] The older you get, the more attached you might become to smoking (even if you don’t think so now). And, some people stop trying to quit as they get older.[5] Even if you don’t think this will be you, why risk it? Take the opportunity to quit now.
Two out of three young adult smokers want to quit.[6] Plus, young adults are more likely to try quitting than older adults.[6] So find a friend who is thinking about quitting too and quit together!
Take advantage of this time in your life when you can set goals together with a friend—it might be harder to find someone to quit with you as you get older. Quitting with a friend can really help keep you stay accountable to what you’ve promised yourself you’ll do. Even better: Your friend will know the challenges you’re going through and be able to provide support and encouragement.
Even if you don’t know anyone who is ready to quit with you, we’ve got Text Buddies in the StopMySmoking program. We can pair you with another young adult who is also quitting—so you really don’t have to go through it alone!
You have many options for quit help available to you!
While it may take some trial and error to figure out what works for you, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends text messaging-based quit programs for young adults. They say that “…text-messaging cessation interventions could offer additional potential channels for delivering cessation assistance, considering their accessibility, potential reach and low cost… they likely would appeal especially to young adults, who in this report were the most likely of all age groups to make quit attempts but the least likely to use cessation counseling and medications.”[6] Knowing this, you now have an edge in your quit process! Now is the best time to quit, so don’t spend another day thinking about it – do it today!
References:
[1] Kirchheimer, S. Quit Smoking Before Age 35 to Regain Health. WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20040608/quit-smoking-before-age-35-to-regain-health
[2] Within 20 Minutes of Quitting. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2004/posters/20mins/index.htm
[3] Mahmud A & Feely J. Effect of smoking on arterial stiffness and pulse pressure amplification. Hypertension. 2003;41:183.
[4] US Surgeon General’s Report. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General. 1990. http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/NN/B/B/C/T/
[5] Young Adults More Likely To Quit Smoking Successfully. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111193824.htm
[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Quitting Smoking Among Adults—United States, 2001-2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2011; 60(44):1513-1519.
Check out this infographic summarizing the design and testing process of StopMySmoking
A lot of quitting aids are already out there, so why did we decide to develop StopMySmoking, a text messaging-based quit program?
Well, for one thing: many quitting aids out there are not exactly user friendly. Some are expensive, others are disruptive – especially with your social life, and then there are the ones that are hard to get or use. The truth is: many quitting aids aren’t really made with young adult smokers in mind.[1]
We know that over half of young adult smokers want to quit and that young people are more likely than older adult smokers to try quitting.[1]
So when we thought about how widely used cell phones are – seems like almost everyone has a cell phone[2] and texts[3] – we realized we could create a program tailor-made for the busy young adult. Text messaging allows us to reach people during the ups and downs of their quitting process. Messages give encouragement, helpful reminders, and useful info just when you need it.
Most people read texts as soon as they receive them[4], so using StopMySmoking is easy. All you have to do is keep your phone with you and read your texts like you normally do.
Life has unexpected moments. Sometimes, you need in-the-moment support to get you through tough times. That’s why we offer Quit Buddies, a buddy-up system that pairs you with someone else in the quitting process; and Text Crave, which instantly sends you advice and support whenever and wherever you need it. You can also go back and reread your favorite StopMySmoking texts whenever you need them.[4]
Before we launched the program, we wanted to make sure that StopMySmoking actually works. So, we tested it out with young adults. As it turns out, people who used StopMySmoking were three times as likely to have stopped smoking 4 weeks later than those not in the program. Almost everyone said that the program made them feel supported.[5] Three in four found that the messages spoke to the feelings they had during the quitting process and seven in ten found that StopMySmoking made quitting smoking a lot easier![5] More than three-fourths of our participants said they would recommend the program to their friends. So, if you haven’t signed up already, we recommend StopMySmoking to you too! If you have more questions about StopMySmoking.com, Quit Buddies, or Text Crave, be sure to check our FAQ page or contact us at our Support page.
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[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Quitting Smoking Among Adults — United States, 2001-2010. MMWR 2011;60(41): 1513-1519. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6044a2.htm
[2] Rainie L, Pew Research Center. Cell phone ownership hits 91% of adults. 2013, Jun 6. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/06/cell-phone-ownership-hits-91-of-adults/
[3] Pew Research Center. Texting Is Nearly Universal Among Young Adult Cell Phone Owners. 2012, Dec 14. http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/texting-is-nearly-universal-among-young-adult-cell-phone-owners/
[4] Ybarra ML. Cell Phone Text Messaging Connecting Clients with Treatment Support Services. Presented at: 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association; August 12, 2010, San Diego, CA. http://innovativepublichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/APA_2010_San-Diego-CA1.pdf
[5] Ybarra ML. Designing a Text Messaging-Based Behavior Change Program. Presented at: Medicine 2.0; September 15, 2012, Boston, MA. http://innovativepublichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Medicine-2.0_2012_Boston-MA.pdf
Image credit: One Way Stock
We hope you’re as excited as we are about the launch of StopMySmoking! Whatever stage you are in along the smoking cessation process, keep StopMySmoking.com bookmarked in your web browser as a resource you can return to whenever you need. Be sure to check back to this blog, as we’ll be regularly updating—not just about StopMySmoking, but on a variety of topics, such as how to transition your social-life to a non-smoking one! Under the “Help Quitting Smoking” tab, we also offer useful information that you can easily access—even if you don’t decide to start StopMySmoking today.
Once you sign up for StopMySmoking, we hope you take advantage of the features under “My Account,” where you can also update your account information and change the times you’d like to receive StopMySmoking texts. See how far you’ve progressed by clicking “Progress & Calculators” in “My Account.” At any point in your quit process, you can even calculate how much money you’ve saved AND life expectancy you’ve gained since your Quit Date.
We’re not just a web resource: We’re here to assist you through your quit process. If you have any questions that our FAQ section doesn’t cover, please feel free to reach out to us through our Support Page. We love to hear feedback!
Lastly, we would like to use this opportunity to thank the National Cancer Institute, our study partners, and all of our beta test participants for their support in the development of StopMySmoking. Without all of you, StopMySmoking would not have been possible.
The StopMySmoking Team