Fewer and fewer Canadians are smoking as more and more look to quit.
As heard on AM800s The Afternoon News, January is the time of year that sees the highest number of smokers look to kick the habit.
Health Promotion Specialist with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Melissa Valentik, stresses if smokers were unsuccessful in January - don't give up just because it's February.
Valentik says the average smoker in Ontario tries to quit up to 30 times.
She points to the "Four D's" as a good rule of thumb for quitting: distracting yourself when a craving pops up, delay having a cigarette, deep breathing to relax and drinking lots of water.
For those looking to quit, Valentik points to creating smoke free spaces as a key and also identifying triggers.
"Thinking about what are your triggers to smoking — so, where are you when you're smoking, when do you smoke?" says Valentik. "If you can figure out what's triggering you to smoke then you can also figger out how to avoid it our how to change it."
Valentik says having a quitting buddy can make a major difference in attempting to stop smoking tobacco.
"Most people actually do try to quit on their own, but that's the hardest way to do it and in our community we have a ton of great services that offer free counseling and free noctine patches so, there's really no reason that you have to do it by yourself."
Valentik stresses it's common for smokers to try multiple times before finally quitting saying "don't be too hard on yourself." She points to new programs like OHIP+ which provides those under 25 years old medication coverage and up to a year of free counseling from a pharmacist.
Valentik adds there are a number of programs to help smokers quit of all ages and more details can be found at the health unit's website.
- with files from Patty Handysides.