Calling on tobacco users: A successful quit attempt could be a phone call away

OTTAWA, May 17, 2012 /CNW/ - For smokers who are thinking about quitting, there are resources available to help them kick their habit for good. Telephone counselling is one option that can help.

In fact, studies show that smokers who receive phone counselling are more than one and one-half times more likely to stay smoke-free than those who don't receive counselling.

In Canada, all provinces and territories offer free telephone counselling to smokers through "quitlines." Quitlines provide telephone support from trained responders who can help users develop a personal quit plan, answer any questions about quitting and help locate quit smoking services in their community. They can also offer information and resources to callers who wish to support someone in the quitting process.

Smokers now need to look no further than their cigarette package for quitline information.

As of June 19, 2012, retailers may sell only cigarettes and little cigars featuring new, larger health warning labels. Each new health warning includes a toll-free quitline number and web address—a first for tobacco health warnings in Canada.

Calling the quitline number (1-866-366-3667) connects callers to free counselling services, while the web address (www.gosmokefree.gc.ca/quit) links users to online resources such as quit smoking information and, in some cases, web-based counselling services.

The new health warnings, developed by Health Canada, include information about diseases recently confirmed to be caused by smoking; facts about the health benefits of quitting; and messages from individuals whose lives have been negatively affected by tobacco use.

Leroy Kehler is one of them. He was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx when he was 48. His vocal cords were removed, and he now breathes through a hole in his throat. "I wish I had never started smoking," his message says.

In 2000, Canada was the first country to require graphic health warnings on tobacco packages. Those warnings have played a role in reducing smoking rates, which declined from 24 per cent of the population aged 15 and over in 2000 to an all-time low of 17 per cent in 2010.

The new health warnings aim to build on this success by increasing awareness of the health hazards of tobacco use, and by putting quitline information into the hands of millions of smokers.

Note to Editors: Accompanying digital image available upon request. Please contact Health Canada Media Relations at 613-957-2983.

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