#weareyu

[ltpbyork-blog]

Every End is a New Beginning

Every year millions of people around the world join in unison to celebrate the forthcoming of the New Year. It brings promise of a new beginning, a fresh start where new adventures and opportunities lay ahead. It almost feels as if seven billion new lives are born each year on the 1st of January as we all strive to change ourselves in one form or another.

Do the phrases.. “save more money”, “get into shape”, “reconnect with loved ones”, “travel the world”, “learn a new language”, “focus on my health”, “quit smoking”, etc.. sound familiar? We all make New Year’s resolutions but how often do we actually follow through with them? By now, over 60% of people have already given up their New Year’s resolution.

Well if your resolution was to QUIT SMOKING, this year you will have an added incentive to quit. Along with taking care of your present and future health, by entering the WOULD U RATHER contest you will be entered into a draw to WIN up to $2500!!! Not only will you save money by forgoing the $10 pack of cigarettes, you will also have a chance to win a semester worth of tuition!!! Or maybe add it to the new car you’ve been eyeing, the getaway you’ve been dreaming of.. whatever tickles your fancy!

The contest has 4 different categories, and anyone (smokers, non-smoker, ex-smoker is eligible to enter).  1. Quit For Good -Open to daily smokers  -Must completely abstain from smoking for 6 weeks  -GRAND PRIZE: $2500

2. Keep The Count  -Open to daily smokers -Must reduce tobacco consumption by 50%  -GRAND PRIZE: $1000

3. Party Without The Smoke -Open to daily/non-daily smokers  -Must not smoke tobacco, marijuana, shisha when drinking alcohol  -GRAND PRIZE: $750  4. Don’t Start & Win  -Open to non-smokers/ex-smokers  -Must continue to be smoke free for the duration of the contest  -GRAND PRIZE: $250 

To go along with the Provincial Grand Prizes, the LTPB team will also have YorkU campus specific prizes.

1. $500 tuition voucher to YorkU 2. 3 month membership to GoodLife 3. $50 Superstore Gift Card w/ gift basket 4. Blue Jays/Raptors gear 5. YorkU Bookstore gift card

Registration for the contest officially closes January 25th, 2015. The duration of the contest is from January 26th- March 9th, 2015.

To register for the contest visit the official contest page @ www.wouldurather.ca. You can also come by our tabling booth set up in Vari Hall/ Central Square during the National Non-Smoking Week (Jan 19th- 23rd) or drop by the SCLD office at Ross Building, S172 to inquire about contacting one of the LTPB representatives for more info.

Are you ready to finally fulfill your New Year’s resolution? If so, let us help on along the way!

[ltpbyork-blog]

10 Ways to Deal with Nicotine Withdrawal

Hey yall, my name is Shannon and I am a member of the Glendon LTPB team. I am here today to give you all ten awesome tips on how to deal with nicotine withdrawal symptoms. First off, not everyone experiences withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking; however those who have know it can be brutal. Withdrawal symptoms tend to be strongest within the first few days of quitting. As time goes by the withdrawal symptoms do lessen. Hang in there and try using these tips!

1. Drink water - lots of it! Have healthy snacks available when   hunger pangs strike (this can also help with keeping that unwanted weight off).

  2. Remember why you’re quitting! Have your goals in a visible place whether it is on your fridge, in your agenda or on your wall. It is most effective if you have your goals in multiple places!

  3.Count on friends and family for their support! Announcing plans to quit is a proven strategy for successful quitting

        4.  Change your routines and keep busy.

  5.Hit the gym! This can help release tension and stress. Also, when you quit   your metabolism slows down; working out can help keep off that unwanted weight!

  6.Order a free supply of NRT’s (nicotine replacement therapies)right to your door from www.leavethepackbehind.org

  7. There’s an app for that? Heck ya! Download the Crush the Crave free app to help you along your journey towards a smoke-free life.

  8.Check out this helpful free hotline which you can access by text, calling or online. Professionals give you personalized tips on how to stay smoke free and answer other questions you may have! http://www.smokershelpline.ca/

  9.Plan how to deal with places and people that may trigger you to smoke. For example, do you usually smoke on your way to the bus stop? How about you pop a piece of gum and put in your ear buds instead.

  10. Deep breathing can work miracles! Put on some calming music and just breathe.

Thanks for reading folks!

Here are two awesome links to get more info about Health Ed and LTPB

http://healthed.scld.yorku.ca/

https://www.leavethepackbehind.org/

Like us:

https://www.facebook.com/LeaveThePackBehind

https://www.facebook.com/HealthEdYU

   Stay tuned for another blog!!

References:

https://www.leavethepackbehind.org/quitting/#story_page_107

[ltpbyork-blog]

PIES Anyone?

                    Hey there! My name is Claudia and I am Leave the Pack Behind’s Team Lead at the Glendon Campus.

            This week’s blog post is on PIES. Huh? As in the food PIES? Wrong! In case you haven’t read our introductory blog post already, Leave the Pack Behind has been running its first PIES campaign since September and it goes on until November. This campaign’s main target audience is social and occasional smokers. PIES is an acronym that stands for

Preventing the Initiation and Escalation of Smoking.

Okay. What does that mean? Can you tell me a little more?

Young adults make up the highest majority of smokers among all other age groups in Ontario. Leave the Pack Behind’s goal during this campaign is to prevent students from starting to smoke (the initiation part) and from escalating their tobacco use (moving from social to regular smoking).

  Common Beliefs and Facts about Social Smoking

Non-daily, occasional smoking is very common among college and university students. Social smoking is definitely more common among individuals who spend a lot of time socializing with friends and binge drinking – no surprise here.

Many young people who are social smokers don’t consider themselves to be a “smoker” and don’t believe they’re addicted to cigarettes.

Most social smokers also believe that they will not continue to smoke after leaving university or college.

Students who are social smokers often progress from smoking at parties to smoking in other situations (i.e. to deal with stress and boredom), which leads to escalation and long-term addiction. In fact, just 2-4 cigarettes per week puts a student at risk of becoming dependent during this life stage.

Social smokers are more likely to be lighter smokers, are less addicted to nicotine, and have lower intentions to quit smoking compared to regular smokers.

Here are some important definitions before you read on:

Smoking Initiation: Starting to smoke (when someone has their first cigarette)

Late Smoking Initiation: Starting to smoke after the age of 18

Smoking Escalation: Progressing from non-daily smoking to daily smoking

  Now here are some Did you know? facts for you!

Did you know?

Recently, up to 20% of smokers report having their very first cigarette after the age of 18 (that’s 1 in 5 smokers initiating tobacco use after coming to campus!)

Most smokers are occasional smokers who tend to escalate to regular, daily smoking in their young adult years

Almost 40% of smokers report increasing the amount they smoke after coming to campus

62% of young adult smokers are social (“non-daily”) smokers whereas 38% are regular smokers

Now I will tell you a bit more about the stages of smoking initiation and escalation.

Smoking initiation and escalation is a process where young adults move through several stages while becoming a smoker. Here are six distinct stages of smoking onset:

Non-susceptible never smoker: non-smoker with a firm commitment to remain smoke-free

Susceptible never smoker: non-smoker who has intentions toward trying smoking

Tried smoker: has tried only a puff/one or two cigarettes

Experimenter: smokes occasionally (less than monthly) and has smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime

Regular smoker: smokes at least monthly but not daily and has smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime

Daily smoker: smokes daily or almost every day

  Last, but not least, I will leave you with a couple of key messages of the PIES campaign!

Message #1: Social smoking leads to daily, dependent smoking. Most young people don’t want to picture themselves as dependent, long-term heavy smokers. Many students who smoke socially in their first year are still smoking (either socially or daily) when they graduate. Addiction happens fast, and it’s not something anyone wants to happen!

Message #2: No amount of tobacco use is safe. Smoking socially doesn’t mean escaping the negative consequences of tobacco use. There may be a safe way to drink, have sex, and party, but there is no safe level of tobacco use. Our bodies actually have zero tolerance for CO and this includes smoking tobacco and breathing second-hand smoke!

I hope this read gave you a better understanding of the motive behind our PIES campaign. If you’re a social smoker reading this, stop by our booth sometime at either the Keele or Glendon Campus and a Leave the Pack Behind peer team would be more than happy to have a chat with you!

Thanks for reading! And remember to visit Leave the Pack Behind’s official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LeaveThePackBehind?fref=ts as well as Health Education & Promotion website at http://healthed.scld.yorku.ca/.

[michaelkasaboski]

Here's my piece for #artdropday. I'll be leaving it somewhere on the #YorkU campus. If you find it, lemme know! #WeAreYu