Friday, June 29, 2007

Top Tips For Giving Up Smoking

Video: Top Tips For Giving Up Smoking

VideoJug: Top Tips For Giving Up Smoking

Step 1

DECIDE TO GIVE UP AND THINK POSITIVE
Before you actually stop smoking, think positively about the benefits, for you, your friends and family.
90% of smokers say they want to stop for the sake of their health.
And for men smoking can be a cause for becoming impotent.
The senses of taste and smell are dulled by smoking .
And it has long been acknowledged that non smokers live longer, healthier lives than smokers.
Most people choose to give up for health reasons: it's hard to be fit when you get out of breath or have a persistent cough. As more and more people are giving up, you may well find that more of your friends are non-smokers than smokers.

Step 2

DESTROY ALL CIGARETTES

Throw away or destroy all cigarettes and any other smoking paraphernalia.
If you really want to kick the habit, you've already overcome the first hurdle.
Even if you have some cigarettes left, seize the moment and throw them away. You will feel stronger in your resolve when you do this.

Step 3

GET HELP AND SUPPORT

There's a lot of support available for people wanting to
quit smoking and the first step could be to see your doctor.
You can also find lot of support on the internet and some of the organizations dedicated to helping smokers kick the habit are:
ASH, a public health charity;
and QUIT, an independent charity.
In the United States there is Quit Smoking
and an Australian site is Quit Now.
Smoking help lines and email motivational support are also available on these sites.
Here are some of the many websites available:
http://www.givingupsmoking.co.uk/
http://www.quit.org.uk/
http://www.ash.org.uk/
http://www.quitnow.info.au/
http://www.quitsmoking.about.com/
The NHS helpline number is 0800 169 0 169

Step 4

KEEP A SMOKING DIARY OR LOG

To help you fully understand your smoking habit and addiction keep a smoking diary or log.
Write down the times and places when you smoke and what you are doing, who you are with.
This will be vital information as you give up smoking, helping you to avoid those moments when you know you will want a cigarette.

Step 5

CONSIDER NICOTINE REPLACEMENT THERAPY

NRT helps with nicotine withdrawal and is available in the form of patches, lozenges, chewing gum, nasal spray and inhalers.
Figures show that it roughly doubles your chance of success. Taking a small amount of nicotine allows you to reduce your dependence whilst taking the edge off your desire for a cigarette.

Step 6

ASK DOCTOR ABOUT ZYBAN

Zyban is a new prescription drug. It takes away the buzz of smoking and many smokers stop within two weeks of taking it.
Currently, Zyban is available only on prescription, so you will need to visit your doctor in order to find out about this.

Step 7

TRY ACUPUNCTURE

If you don't mind needles, why not try acupuncture? It really isn't painful and some smokers have found it very valuable in the fight to give up.
Acupuncture has been used successfully in China for thousands of years.
Although you may feel nervous about acupuncture, it really doesn't hurt.
Acupuncture patients report a drop in their desire to smoke.
Its use is growing within the NHS and it is a safe treatment if carried out by a trained practitioner.

Step 8

TRY HYPNOTHERAPY

Many ex-smokers have used hypnotherapy to help them quit.
Hypnotherapy bypasses the conscious, busy mind to plant suggestions in your unconscious to support you in giving up.

Step 9

CHOOSE BEST METHOD FOR YOU

Only you can decide which method is the best for you. You may like to try a variety to see which you prefer. There is no one right way. What matters is to use whatever works best for you.

Step 10

PREPARE YOURSELF MENTALLY

When you decide to give up, it can be very helpful to start thinking of yourself as a non-smoker, so that you have a positive frame for your efforts, and feel that you are becoming something new, rather than giving up something that you used to have.
It can be useful to feel that you want to give up, rather than feeling that you ought to give up.

More Steps: HERE

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Tabaco: Nova lei aprovada hoje no Parlamento

A Assembleia da República aprova esta quinta-feira a nova lei do tabaco, um diploma mais tolerante do que o inicialmente apresentado pelo Governo e que deverá entrar em vigor a 1 de Janeiro de 2008.

Relativamente à proposta que saiu do Conselho de Ministros a 1 de Março, a lei que vai hoje a votação e que foi aprovada quarta-feira na especialidade pela comissão parlamentar de Saúde, apresenta uma redução de mil para 750 euros no limite máximo das multas a aplicar a fumadores transgressores e autoriza os proprietários dos estabelecimentos mais pequenos a escolher se querem ou não ser espaços sem fumo, o que lhes era imposto segundo a formulação inicial.

Agora, cada proprietário poderá decidir se quer ser um espaço para não fumadores, para fumadores ou para ambos, desde que fique garantida a qualidade do ar para os não fumadores.

Quanto aos estabelecimentos com mais de 100 metros quadrados, mantém-se a obrigação de serem destinados a não fumadores, embora possam ter um espaço para fumadores, desde que não ultrapasse 30 por cento do total do espaço.

Outra diferença é que, enquanto a proposta do Governo previa multas de entre 50 e mil euros para fumadores que insistissem em fumar nos espaços proibidos, a lei prevê agora, por proposta do PS, que estes paguem coimas entre 50 e 750, mantendo-se as coimas anteriormente previstas para os estabelecimentos que permitam o fumo em locais sem tabaco.

As restantes multas mantêm-se como inicialmente propostas, sendo que os estabelecimentos que permitam o fumo em locais proibidos ficarão sujeitas a coimas de entre 50 e mil euros.

Mais: AQUI (Diário Digital/Lusa)
Adenda (18:56):
Tabaco: Lei aprovada pelo PS, PSD, PCP, Verdes e um deputado do CDS.
Mais: AQUI (Diário Digital/Lusa)

Monday, June 25, 2007

Tabaco: Vício custou mais de 430 milhões de euros em cuidados de saúde em 2005

O tabaco foi responsável por custos na ordem dos 434 milhões de euros em internamentos hospitalares, medicamentos, consultas e exames, só em 2005, segundo uma estimativa divulgada hoje pelo Infarmed.

De acordo com um estudo realizado por investigadores da Universidade Católica Portuguesa e da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, os internamentos motivados pelo tabagismo custaram 126 milhões de euros, uma verba que acresce aos mais de 308 milhões gastos em medicamentos, consultas e meios complementares de diagnóstico.

Se os fumadores portugueses tivessem deixado o vício, poderiam ter sido poupados cerca de 144 milhões de euros, dos quais 64 milhões em internamentos e 80 milhões em cuidados ambulatórios.

O estudo "Carga e Custos da Doença Atribuível ao Tabagismo em Portugal", baseado em dados de 2005, estima ainda que cerca de 12 por cento das mortes registadas no país há dois anos tenham sido provocados pelo tabaco.

Em termos de perdas de saúde, calculadas não só pela morte prematura, mas também pelos níveis de incapacidade, os cigarros foram responsáveis por 146 mil anos de vida perdidos.

Destes, 51 mil poderiam ter sido recuperados caso os fumadores portugueses tivessem deixado os cigarros. No total, a cessação tabágica levaria a uma redução de 5,8 por cento nas taxas de mortalidade em Portugal.

Os casos de cancro nos lábios, cavidade oral e faringe, por exemplo, diminuiriam para metade nos homens portugueses, se estes deixassem de fumar, o mesmo sucedendo com as neoplasias malignas da traqueia, pulmões e brônquios, cuja incidência registaria um decréscimo de 45 por cento.

Das cerca de 650 milhões de pessoas que actualmente fumam em todo o mundo, metade acabará por morrer vítima do tabaco.

Em Portugal, uma em cada cinco pessoas fuma, um vício partilhado por 31 por cento dos homens e 10,3 por cento das mulheres, segundo dados de 2005.

De acordo com o Eurobarómetro divulgado no mês passado, cerca de metade dos fumadores portugueses quer deixar de fumar, mas apenas um em cada três o tenta realmente.

Mais: AQUI (Lusa)

Friday, June 22, 2007

Deixar de Fumar - Solange F. - Apresentadora do Curto Circuito - SIC Radical

Deixar de fumar não é fácil, mas com força de vontade consegue-se! Foi o que disse Solange F. depois da sua primeira semana sem fumo.





Segundo este BLOG, a apresentadora já não fuma há 1 ano, 4 meses, 3 semanas, 6 dias, 21 horas, 58 minutos e 50 segundos...

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The smoking ban in England - Locations

Business

How do I develop a smokefree policy?
What about a smoking shelter?
Can I still have a staff smoking room?
My workplace is already smokefree. Will I have to do anything to get ready for the new law?
Will there be support for business?

Home

Will my home be required to be smokefree?
I work from home, will it be required to be smokefree then?

Sports stadiums

Does this legislation cover sports stadiums?

General

I don't like breathing smoke outdoors either, why does this legislation apply to indoors only?
Is this just about smoking in pubs?
Sometimes smoke blows back through my office window. Can they be made to smoke away from the building?

Answers: HERE

Sunday, June 17, 2007

No-smoking signage

No-smoking signage
All smokefree premises and vehicles will need to display no-smoking signs that meet the requirements of the law. No-smoking signs will make it clear which premises and vehicles are smokefree and demonstrate that you are taking the necessary steps to meet the requirements of the new smokefree law.

More: HERE

A quick guide to the smokefree law

The new law is being introduced to protect employees and the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Key points are:

-From 1 July 2007 it will be against the law to smoke in virtually all enclosed and substantially enclosed public places and workplaces. See below for definitions.

-Public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person will also need to be smokefree.

-No-smoking signs will have to be displayed in all smokefree premises and vehicles.

-Staff smoking rooms and indoor smoking areas will no longer be allowed, so anyone who wants to smoke will have to go outside.

-Managers of smokefree premises and vehicles will have legal responsibilities to prevent people from smoking.

-If you are uncertain where you can or can't smoke, just look for the no-smoking signs or ask someone in charge.

More: HERE

PUBLIC HEALTH, ENGLAND - The Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2006 No. 3368

PUBLIC HEALTH, ENGLAND

The Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006

Made 13th December 2006
Laid before Parliament 18th December 2006
Coming into force 1st July 2007

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of the powers in sections 2(5), 10(1) and (2) and 79(3) of the Health Act 2006[1], makes the following Regulations:—

Citation, commencement, application and interpretation
1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 1st July 2007.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England only.
(3) In these Regulations "the Act" means the Health Act 2006.

Enclosed and substantially enclosed premises
2. —(1) For the purposes of section 2 of the Act, premises are enclosed if they—
(a) have a ceiling or roof; and
(b) except for doors, windows and passageways, are wholly enclosed either permanently or temporarily.
(2) For the purposes of section 2 of the Act, premises are substantially enclosed if they have a ceiling or roof but there is—
(a) an opening in the walls; or
(b) an aggregate area of openings in the walls,
which is less than half of the area of the walls, including other structures that serve the purpose of walls and constitute the perimeter of the premises.
(3) In determining the area of an opening or an aggregate area of openings for the purposes of paragraph (2), no account is to be taken of openings in which there are doors, windows or other fittings that can be opened or shut.
(4) In this regulation "roof" includes any fixed or moveable structure or device which is capable of covering all or part of the premises as a roof, including, for example, a canvas awning.

Enforcement
3. —(1) Each of the following authorities is designated as an enforcement authority for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Act—
(a) a unitary authority;
(b) a district council in so far as it is not a unitary authority;
(c) a London borough council;
(d) a port health authority;
(e) the Common Council of the City of London;
(f) the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple and the Under Treasurer of the Middle Temple; and
(g) the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
(2) In this regulation—
"port health authority" means an authority constituted under section 2(3) (port health districts and authorities) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984[2] or continued to be so known and styled under paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 (transitional provisions and savings) to that Act; and
"unitary authority" means—
(a) the council of a county so far as it is the council for an area for which there are no district councils; or
(b) the council of any district comprised in an area for which there is no county council.
(3) An enforcement authority has enforcement functions in relation to the premises and vehicles that are within—
(a) in the case of a port health authority, the district for which it is a port health authority; and
(b) in the case of other authorities, the area for which it is a local authority other than any part of that area which falls within the district of a port health authority,
except to the extent that those functions have been transferred to another enforcement authority under paragraph (5).
(4) In addition, each enforcement authority has enforcement functions in relation to premises and vehicles to the extent to which functions are transferred to it under paragraph (5).
(5) Where more than one enforcement authority is investigating the same person for an offence under section 6(5) (no-smoking signs), 7(2) (smoking in a smoke-free place), 8(4) (failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free place) or 11(1) (obstruction etc of officers) of the Act, enforcement functions may be transferred from one or more of those enforcement authorities to—
(a) an enforcement authority that is carrying out any of those investigations; or
(b) any other enforcement authority,
under arrangements made between the transferring and receiving authorities.
More: HERE (PDF)

Thursday, June 14, 2007

The smoking ban in England

England is following the rest of the UK with a smoking ban. Smoking will be banned in all public indoor spaces on 1 July, 2007.

Where will smoking be banned?
Smoking in all indoor public places will be banned. Many places - such as cinemas and public transport - have rarely permitted smoking in recent years, so it will be places like pubs, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and private members' clubs that feel the biggest impact of the ban.

More: HERE

Smoking ban in all pubs and clubs
The government predicts an estimated 600,000 people will give up smoking as a result of the law change.

More: HERE (BBC News)

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

smoke free usa

Workplace: Smoking is generally, but not always banned in many workplaces, hospitals, government buildings, museums, schools and theatres.

Travel: Banned in train/bus stations, but enforcement is uneven. Banned on domestic airplanes. Many airports have smoking sections, and airport bars tend to be smoky, but this is becoming less common. Many hotels offer, but do not guarantee, 'nonsmoking' rooms. Sometimes this only means you are free not to smoke in yours - but the guest before you might have been smoking, and smoke might come in from next door.

Dining: These states ban smoking in restaurants and bars: California, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey (casinos exempted), Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Montana banned smoking in restaurants - bars exempt till 2009. South Dakota had a ban - status unsure. In November 2006, Ohio and Nevada banned smoking in most public places; Arizona passed a similar ban, which takes effect May 2007. In January 2006 the Territory of Puerto Rico banned smoking in the workplace, including bars and casinos. Smoking in restaurants is banned in a number of cities and counties in other states, but is still common.

Chain restaurants often ban smoking, but this may depend on whether a restaurant is owned by the corporation or franchised to a local manager. "Pub-restaurants" often ban smoking, especially brew-pubs. Don't assume American beer is all Budweiser, come try our local beers! In California and Massachusetts you can enjoy beer and live music without the smoke).

Nightlife: Smoking in bars and music venues is common. The tobacco industry spends $$$$$$ to make smoking look hip. This makes it hard to find smokefree entertainment in many states. Exceptions: venues for classical music & (often) 'acoustic' music (everything from bluegrass to swing) tend to be non-smoking.

Business: You will make a better impression in either social or business situations if you ask before lighting up. Even if it's perfectly OK to smoke, people will appreciate your politeness.

More: HERE (smokefreeworld)

Monday, June 11, 2007

List of smoking bans in the United States

List of smoking bans in the United States. Since the U.S. does not have federal smoking control legislation, the list shows state and local laws. Over 50% of Americans are covered by a smoke-free ordinance of some degree.

List of smoking bans in the United States: HERE (From: Wikipedia)

10 RAZÕES PARA CRIAR AMBIENTES LIVRES DE FUMO DE TABACO

1- O fumo de tabaco ambiental (FTA) é causa de doença e morte.

2- Não há níveis seguros de exposição ao FTA.

3- Nenhum sistema de ventilação e/ou filtração é eficaz na eliminação do fumo. A instalação e manutenção destes equipamentos é muito cara e tecnicamente difícil.

4- O direito a respirar um ar sem fumo é um direito humano fundamental, como o direito à Saúde.

5- A maioria da população (76% dos portugueses) não fuma e tem o direito de não estar exposta ao fumo dos outros.

6- Espaços 100% sem fumo são a única forma de proteger efectivamente e sem discriminações os trabalhadores e o público em geral dos efeitos nocivos do fumo do tabaco. Crianças e grávidas são as principais vítimas inocentes da exposição ao fumo do tabaco ambiental.

7- A maioria da população, incluindo os fumadores concorda com a proibição de fumar nos locais de trabalho e espaços públicos fechados.

8- A maioria dos não fumadores e mesmo muitos fumadores preferem frequentar locais sem fumo.

9- Espaços sem fumo promovem a redução do consumo e a cessação tabágica e previnem a iniciação do consumo, particularmente em crianças e jovens.

10- A implementação de espaços livres de fumo não tem custos e é fácil.

Ver mais: AQUI (Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia)

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Diogo Infante luta contra o tabaco - Actor vai dar a cara pela campanha e deixar de fumar

O actor Diogo Infante vai tentar deixar de fumar e o grande público vai poder acompanhar a sua experiência, numa campanha de sensibilização sobre os malefícios do tabaco promovida pela Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia e pela Pfeizer, noticia a Lusa.

A campanha, que vai estender-se até ao final do Verão, chama-se «Deixe de fumar sem dramas» e baseia-se no testemunho real de Diogo Infante, que quer deixar de fumar e vai fazer uma cessação tabágica.

A campanha vai dividir-se em três fases distintas: a primeira, designada «Expectativa», pretende despertar a curiosidade para a decisão do actor; a segunda fase, denominada «Revelação», é quando o protagonista anuncia a sua decisão; a terceira e última fase, o «Acompanhamento», que arranca hoje (2007/06/01), vai dar a conhecer ao público todo o seu percurso.

A escolha recaiu sobre Diogo Infante por o actor «querer deixar de fumar e ser uma figura de grande credibilidade e visibilidade pública», acrescenta a organização da campanha.

Mais: AQUI (PortugalDiário/Lusa)