‘NOBODY QUITS LIKE CHICAGOLAND’ RETURNS NOVEMBER 13 – 18
TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE TO QUIT SMOKING
Chicagoland’s Third Annual Smoking Cessation Awareness Week
We’ve come a long way baby since the law determined cigarettes to be hazardous to your health. However, in America you reserve the right to choose to smoke or not to smoke, to chew or not to chew. Still tobacco remains the single most preventable cause of disease and death throughout the Chicagoland region and across the country. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the U.S., which equates to about 1,300 deaths each day.
If you smoke, stopping smoking is the single most positive thing you can do for your health. The sad truth is that about half of all regular smokers will die from diseases directly related to their habit. It can seem like an impossibility to think of quitting but there is lots of support and help out there to bolster your own efforts and really get you in the right place to make this enormous, life changing decision. In fact, research has shown that people are 30% more likely to quit smoking with social support.
The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and nearly 30 advocacy organizations across the city and suburbs today announced the third annual, ‘Nobody Quits Like Chicagoland’ Smoking Cessation Awareness Week. Events and initiatives throughout the week will aim to drive public awareness of the importance of smoking cessation (or quitting).
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has issued an official proclamation commemorating Sunday, November 13 – Friday, November 18 as Smoking Cessation Awareness Week in Chicago in support of this week’s efforts,
“I commend the efforts of the Chicagoland region for continuing to lead the nation in taking major steps to reduce tobacco use and raise awareness of the importance to quit smoking,” said Mayor Emanuel. “While we’ve made a number of strides – including our move to change the legal age to purchase tobacco products – more can be done to help people quit smoking and educate others as to why they should never start.”
That change of legal age began July 1, 2016, when the minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Chicago increased from 18 to 21. The law was passed to protect young people who are more vulnerable to nicotine addiction, and are also targeted by the tobacco industry with marketing and products designed to lure youth in their effort to establish the next generation of smokers. Senate Bill 3011, currently in the Illinois legislature, proposes to extend that law to the rest of the state.
Throughout the week, partners in this effort will host a variety of programs across the city and suburbs to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco products and provide resources and support to those who want to quit. besides health reasons you will learn the financial argument as to why you should not start or why you should quit.
Messages will be shared across Chicago using the City’s digital billboard network, in addition to commitments from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois headquarters and the Crain Communications building downtown to display campaign messaging with their building lights.
See below for an outline of each day’s focus and major highlights throughout the week. A full schedule of events associated with each of these days is available at https://nqlc.wordpress.com. Also check for daily updates and announcements using hashtag #ChiQuits on social media.
· Sunday, November 13 | Smoke-Free Faith, engaging various faith communities across Chicago in this campaign
· Monday, November 14 | Kick Butts Out of the Home, raising awareness of smoke-free housing, and encouraging loved ones in your home to quit
· Tuesday, November 15 | Kick Butts at Work, elevating employee groups and supports that encourage employees to stop smoking
· Wednesday, November 16 | Mental Health, bringing to light the needs of the mental health community and other hard-to-reach populations when it comes to smoking cessation
· Thursday, November 17 | Youth & the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke Out, raising awareness of the dangers of tobacco use in all its forms to young people across the region
· Friday, November 18 | TGIF & LGBTQ, remembering that social smoking is still smoking, and hosting events for the LGBTQ Community
Partners in this effort include:
Advocate Health Care
Aetna
American Cancer Society
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
Asian Health Coalition
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition
Chicago Housing Authority
Cook County Department of Public Health
DePaul University
Edward-Elmhurst Health
Illinois Academy of Family Physicians
Illinois Department of Public Health
Illinois Public Health Institute
Kane County Health Department
Lake County Health Department & Community Health Center
Loretto Hospital
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Midwest Business Group on Health
National Kidney Foundation of Illinois
Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium
Northwestern Medicine
Oak Street Health
Orthodox Christian Coalition for Healthy Youth
Premier Pain and Spine
Presence Health
Respiratory Health Association
Rush University Cancer Center
To learn more, and get more information on how to quit, visit at (866) QUIT-YES or visit www.QuitYes.org.