ACS's initiative can help smokers to kick their habit

Nov 8 2011

Thousands of smokers will quit on Thursday, November 17th, with the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. But many will be puffing away by Christmas and will need to quit several times before quitting for good.

The Quit & Stay Quit Monday, a nonprofit initiative backed by leading public health schools, says Smokeout quitters can stay on track by using Monday as the day to recommit and re-quit if they relapse.

"Monday is like the January of the week. People see it as an opportunity for a fresh start and are more likely to start or restart healthy behaviors on Monday than any other day" says Sid Lerner, chairman of the Monday Campaigns. "It's a natural restart day to change old bad habits into positive new ones, or to get back on the wagon if you've fallen off."

The power of Monday has worked for millions around the world. Meatless Monday is now in 21 countries and is offered by celebrity chefs like Mario Batali and thousands of corporate and school cafeterias, restaurants and whole communities. "That same weekly behavior nudge that drives the success of Meatless Monday can help smokers to kick their habit, too, and keep it kicked," says Dr. Robert Lawrence, director of The Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Fran Stillman, co-director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins, says "studies show a high relapse rate for most first-time quitters and it takes multiple attempts for most smokers to quit for good. The idea of using each Monday as the day for quitters to reaffirm their smoke cessation goal is a sensible way to stay on track."
 
Source: American Cancer Society