Quit Month

Quit smoking month is coming in June! Remember to tell your family and friends that you are determined to quit smoking! On your quit smoking journey, you are not alone, and everyone around you will support you!

We will also be providing quitting tips and reminders about the importance of persisting with quitting, to accompany you through this smoke-free month!

Quickly call the Quitline Centre at 1833 183 to schedule a free quit smoking service!

Smokers must know about this! Smokers who stay tobacco-free for 4 weeks would be 5 times more likely to quit for good.

There are many methods for quitting smoking. Many people may have tried to purchase and using Smoking Cessation Drugs, such as nicotine replacement therapy, but felt they were not very helpful. In fact, the proper use of Smoking Cessation Drugs is very important. A typical smoking cessation medication regimen requires 8-12 weeks, and smoking cessation clinics will combine long-acting and short-acting nicotine replacement therapies based on the smoker’s level of nicotine dependence, which can significantly increase the success rate of quitting smoking.

Nicotine replacement therapy is a safe and effective complementary method for quitting smoking. It helps alleviate withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings, so we strongly encourage smokers with deep nicotine dependence to use this quit-smoking method. Quickly call the Quitline Centre at 1833 183 to make an appointment for free quit-smoking services and receive the combination of pharmacotherapy with behavioural support.

Smokers must know! Smokers who stay tobacco-free for 4 weeks would be 5 times more likely to quit for good. Smokers with deep nicotine dependence, the withdrawal symptoms are most pronounced in the first few days of quitting smoking. This year, in addition to smoking cessation drugs, we have also added Chinese medicine ear points patches for smoking cessation for you to choose. These options can definitely help you!

The benefits of Chinese ear points patches are that they are safe, painless, have minimal side effects and are easy to use. If you are smoking and want to try, you can go to Pok Oi Chinese medicine clinics without any prior appointment. After a simple assessment, quitters can scan the QR code of the Quit App to receive up to 2 weeks of Ear Points Patches. Give us a call at 1833 183 to learn more about it.

Meta-analyses pointed out that compared with non-smokers, a cigarette a day increases your risk of stroke by 20% and risk of coronary heart disease by 40%, which is equivalent to that of half a pack!

Simply reducing smoking amounts do not reduce your risk of illnesses and death caused by smoking. Quitting successfully means not smoking at all!

If you’re only smoking a few cigarettes per day, you may not necessarily need to use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (Nicotine gum/ patch/ lozenge). You may try using the Quit App to help you quit. The Quit App can help you set a quitting plan, assess your level of nicotine dependence, and mark down your quitting progress, as well as provide you with helpful information and tips, which can definitely support you in your quitting journey.

Before quitting smoking, prepare yourself first by setting a quit date that suits you best, for example, choosing a day with less stress and avoiding important work deadlines, so that you can more easily manage any potential withdrawal symptoms. You can also set your quit date to be June 1st, and we will accompany you through the Quit in June.

Additionally, you can try to think about your daily smoking habits, such as whether you smoke after waking up, after meals, or feeling stressed? To successfully quit smoking, you first need to understand your smoking habits and triggers, then develop corresponding strategies to counteract the cravings, such as avoiding those situations or distracting yourself, doing some stretches, marching in place, or going for a jog.

Once you’ve decided to quit smoking, make a firm resolve to cut all ties with cigarettes – don’t smoke them, get rid of all your lighters and ashtrays in one go. Encourage yourself, saying “I will persist and make the effort!”

Your family and friends will be very happy to know that you are quitting smoking. I hope you succeed in quitting, and that every family members is supporting you. Persist with it, keep up the effort, and you can do it!

Today is the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), and the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the theme of 2024 as “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference”.

Tobacco companies add various flavorings like candy, fruit, or mint to their tobacco products to mask the irritation of the throat of cigarette smoke, in order to entice children and youth to smoke. They also use terms like “smooth” to describe the sensation, and package the products in colorful or image-laden designs to be more attractive, all in an effort to attract children and adolescents to buy them.

Research has shown that the additives in tobacco products can lower people’s perceptions of the harms of tobacco products. Studies have confirmed that mint-flavored tobacco products increase nicotine dependence and reduce the success rate of quitting smoking. Even if you successfully quit smoking, you may be more prone to relapsing. As a wise person, don’t let the tobacco companies deceive you!

Still want to know more about the tactics used by tobacco companies? You can check out this webpage to learn more: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/tobacco-related-industry-tactics-to-attract-generations

On this World No Tobacco Day and during Quit in June, we will be offering daily tips and reminders on why you have to persist with quitting smoking, and how we can support you through this quit smoking month!

Quit Month in June has begun! Congratulations on taking your first step in quitting smoking! Remember to tell your family and friends that you are determined to quit!

If you need support, we have different ways to help you quit! You can also ask a friend who has quit smoking for advice. If your friends also smoke, it is best to ask them to quit with you. You can support and encourage each other. Keep going, not smoking at all!

In Hong Kong, for every 100 people, 90 are never-smokers or former smokers. Welcome to this big tobacco-free family!

Having quit for a day, your blood pressure and carbon monoxide levels have returned to normal. Keep it up!

Congratulations on being tobacc-free for 3 days! Keep it up!

If you feel the urge to smoke, try to stop, wait, taking a deep breath and drinking a glass of water. If you still feel it, you can spend 5-10 minutes doing stretching exercises, listen to a song, or do other things to distract yourself!

You can also keep the nicotine lozenge/ gum or sugar-free gum in obvious or easily accessible places, such on the table, in your handbag, or in your shirt or pants pockets. If you ever get the urge to smoke, you can just take them out and have them. Do it for yourself, and everyone around you will surely support you. If you need any assistance, dial 1833 183 to talk to find us.

Chinese Medicine acupuncture for smoking cessation can help regulate bodily functions, promote lung qi, calm and soothe the mind, and stimulate and increase dopamine levels, which can help alleviate the physical discomfort experienced during the early stages of quitting smoking.

Over 80% of quitters reported a significant reduction in withdrawal symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, irritability, fatigue, anxiety, cravings, increased appetite, insomnia, and difficulty concentrating after receiving acupuncture treatment. When combined with self-apply pressure on ear points, the effects are even more pronounced. If you’d like to learn more, dial 1833 183 to talk with us.

When quitting smoking, try to avoid alcoholic or caffeinated beverages. We recommend drinking water instead. You can add 1 or 2 slices of fresh lemon or orange to the water to freshen up. You can also eat healthy snacks such as apples, bananas, cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes, roasted nuts, etc., to tackle your craving.

During the quitting process, you may face challenges from nicotine cravings, where you may feel irritable, restless, and anxious, with a strong urge to smoke again. Try pausing, taking a deep breath, and placing your hands on your abdomen, closing your eyes, and slowly focusing on your breathing in and breathing out. Do this 3-5 times to help relax your body and mind, and the urge to smoke will subside, allowing you to refocus.

Keep up the persistence and effort! On your quit smoking journey, you are not alone, and everyone around you will support you! You can also call 1833 183 to talk to us.

Congrations to yourself and give yourself some praise for successfully quitting smoking for 7 days! The quitting process is not easy at all, so you can give yourself small rewards from time to time, such as treating yourself to a hearty dinner, to encourage yourself to keep up the effort and perseverance, and not to smoke even a single cigarette!

You can write down your reasons for and difficulties from quitting smoking one by one, combined with the people and situations that hold you back from quitting, how you overcame them, and the experiences and lessons you have learned. You can read it and remind yourself when you’re having a hard time continuing.

Quitting is always better than not quitting, so encourage yourself to persist with it! Keep up the great work!

Today is Sunday, take the opportunity to go hiking, exercise, spend time with family, or simply enjoy your day off to keep yourself away from cigarettes!

Congratulations on being tobacco-free for 10 days! Today is Dragon Boat Festival, enjoy swimming and dragon boat racing, and remember to stay away from cigarettes!

Tobacco smoke contains 7,000 chemicals, of which at least 69 are carcinogens.

Smoking causes at least 12 cancers, including lung cancer, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, etc. These cancers caused by smoking can be fatal, or bring about permanent consequences. Basic bodily functions such as eating and excreting may be permanently impaired. If you don’t want this to be a part of your daily life, quit now!

When you are bored or craving for cigarettes, you can distract yourself by doing exercises, such as taking a short walk or stretching your arms and legs. You can also try marching in place, brisk walking, or doing some muscle training for about 3-5 minutes, and the urge to smoke will disappear. Keep up the effort and don’t smoke at all!

In the long run, you can develop the habit of doing exercises, such as swimming, cycling, or going to the gym, which can also help you quit smoking. Choose an exercise that is suitable and enjoyable for you, and stay away from smoking.

Exposure to second-hand smoke in children increases risk of cancers, middle ear infection, lower respiratory illness, and severe asthma.

Third-hand smoke refers to substances that remain on the surface of clothing, your body, and household items after smoking. These substances include nicotine and other harmful substances, such as lead and carcinogens. They will remain on those surfaces for several days to weeks. They cannot be removed by usual cleaning agents, and will enter the body through breathing and skin contact.

You can protect your family from second-hand and third-hand smoke by quitting smoking. You can also avoid the unpleasant odour left on your body.

For your child’s health, quit now!

Whenever you have cravings, pause for a moment, take 3-5 deep breaths, and recall a happy moment, or think about what to do tomorrow. The urge to smoke will go away.

Keep it up! Don’t smoke at all!

Day 20

Smoking causes carbon monoxide level in the blood to rise sharply, hindering the delivery of oxygen to muscles and tissues, reducing exercise performance and endurance. To improve exercise performance, you must quit smoking!

Within 2 weeks to 4 months after quitting smoking, the circulatory system and lung function improve. Studies have shown that quitting smoking for just 14 days can improve muscle endurance. After 2 years of quitting, there is significant improvement in exercise performance.

Keep up with quitting smoking. Everyone around yousupports you!

Happy Father’s Day! If your dad smokes, give him a priceless gift – health, by encouraging him to quit smoking!

In recent years, disposable, no-assembly or charging required e-cigarettes have become popular overseas. Their e-liquids contain extremely high levels of nicotine, equivalent to hundreds of traditional cigarettes per pod. Tobacco companies use nicotine salts in the formulation to reduce the harsh taste and make it more palatable, which can lead to severe nicotine addiction.

Additionally, there have been reports of people illegally selling products marketed as “vaporizers” or “oral spray sticks” to confuse the public. According to the laws in Hong Kong, these products are also e-cigarettes.

Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes not only fail to help peoplequit smoking, but are also highly addictive themselves. The intake of nicotine can affect brain development in children and adolescents, leading to learning difficulties and anxiety. Furthermore, the vapors from e-cigarettes contain carcinogens such as aldehydes and benzene, increasing the risk of heart and lung diseases. In short, the use of any smoking products is harmful to health. Don’t be tempted to try even a single puff!

Smoking fewer cigarettes doesn’t translate to decreased risk! Meta-analyses pointed out that compared with non-smokers, a cigarette a day increases your risk of stroke by 20% and risk of coronary heart disease by 40%, which is equivalent to that of half a pack!

Simply reducing smoking amounts do not reduce your risk of illnesses and death caused by smoking. Quitting successfully means not smoking at all!

Day 24

The median salary in Hong Kong is $19,100. If you spend $72 on a pack of cigarettes each day, that adds up to $26,280 per year, which means you are only pocketing 11 months’ salary each year

Day 25

Smoking impairs the self-repair ability of the retinal cells and causes cumulative structural damages to the eyes with time. Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of visual impairment and age-related macular degeneration by 2 to 3 times.

Moreover, the heavy metals in tobacco smoke, i.e. lead and cadmium, directly damage the lens, lower the amount of antioxidants and increase your risk of developing cataract by 2 to 3 times.

Want to protect your eyesight? Quit smoking now!

Day 26

Waterpipe tobacco and charcoal emit large doses of toxicants upon combustion, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, tar, and carcinogens. The waterpipe smoke being inhaled during a one-hour session of waterpipe smoking can be equivalent to 100 to 200 times that of smoking cigarettes! Because of this, waterpipe smokers inhale more toxicants than cigarette smokers.

It is difficult to completely disinfect the waterpipe apparatus after every use. Research has shown that waterpipe smoking increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as herpes, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C. Stay away from waterpipe smoking!

Day 27

Smokers are at increased risk of dementia, hip fractures, cataracts, and other diseases. Even if you quit smoking after 60 years old, you can still enjoy immediate and long-term benefits.

It’s never too late to quit!

Day 28

If you have remained tobacco-free for 4 weeks, you have already gotten through the withdrawal symptoms of nicotine. If you encounter environmental cues that might tempt you to smoke in the future, you must remember your persistence and effort today, and say no to smoking.

To avoid temptation, you must reject any offers to smoke and avoid places where people might smoke. Let’s review the many reasons to quit smoking in the past month!

Day 29

To those who have quit, you can finally break up with dirty back alleys and trash cans! Live your own life!

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~

Day 30

Share your favourite tobacco-free moments with your family and friends~