November is here, and in Tahoe that means we are moving into winter. As the snow starts to fall and we find ourselves in the holiday season, the Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids is focusing on healthy habits. November hosts the Great American Smokeout, this year falling on November 21st and highlighting one unhealthy habit we want to focus on, smoking & vaping.
Did You Know
The Great American Smokeout stems from an event back in 1970 when a high school guidance counselor asked people to give up cigarettes for one day? He asked them to donate the money they would have spent on buying cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund. A few years later that turned into the first Don’t Smoke Day in Minnesota. Finally landing us to November of 1976 when the California division of the Cancer Society got 1 million people to quit smoking for the day. As a result, there was a dramatic change in the public view of tobacco use and advertising.
So, this November let’s get rid of unhealthy habits to create room for healthy ones!
Why is smoking an unhealthy habit?
Did You Know
Tobacco products contain Nicotine and Nicotine is a drug?
Did You Know
The legal age to purchase and use tobacco products in California and Nevada is 21?
Whether it be cigarettes, e-cigarettes/vape pens, or chewing tobacco all contain tobacco that has nicotine in it (along with many other chemicals that you typically would not put in your body).
Did you know Nicotine is highly addictive?
Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in the tobacco plant) and is widely used recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. There is also synthetic nicotine created without the use of Nicotiana tabacum, the Tobacco plant.
Did You Know
Stimulants are a class of drug that activates the central nervous system and speeds up communication between the brain and body. All stimulants affect the body by increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
Do You Know What Nicotine (which is a stimulant) can do to your body?
We know it can increase brain activity; causing you to be more alert, less tired, and more physically active. This is why it is easy to become addicted to nicotine in cigarettes or vape pens. But, when you participate in physical activities like running, dancing, or playing any kind of sports, those activities can increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature in a healthy way.
That’s why a long term effect of smoking or vaping is heart disease. Decreasing blood flow to the heart, can cause heart attacks because Nicotine is an artificial chemical product that speeds up the heart rate. Think about when your doing something physical, it is typically only a small portion of the day 60 minutes or less, giving your heart a chance to rest in between. Smoking & vaping multiple times a day never lets the heart get any rest and is why the risk of heart diseases increases.
Do You Know How to Get Help or Where to Start?
Resources online to access from anywhere:
Kick It California – Quit Now Kick it California- You can sign up for texting, schedule a call with a coach, or just see a list of steps to help you get ready to quit.
Nevada Tobacco Quit– choose online, Live Chat, or call a hotline to get started.