AHS offers resources to help Albertans quit tobacco

EDMONTON – National Non-Smoking Week is Jan. 21-27, and Alberta Health Services (AHS) has programs and services to help Albertans stop using commercial tobacco products:  

• Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medications that can help you quit.
• Visit AlbertaQuits.ca for information and tools to prepare you to quit.
• Talk to a counsellor at the AlbertaQuits helpline (1-866-710-7848). Free for all Alberta residents, it's open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
• Sign up for AlbertaQuits by Text. It's a free, three-month text messaging program that delivers motivational messages, advice and tips to your cell to help you quit. Text the word ABQUITS to number 123456 to register.
• Sign up for QuitCore, a group support program that provides individuals with the strategies and skills they need to quit tobacco, while connecting them with others who are also trying to quit. This program is offered in person and virtually.

Quitting is one of the most important things anyone can do improve health and lower the risk of disease. Every year, more than 4,000 Albertans die because of tobacco use, while tens of thousands more Albertans have serious tobacco-related illnesses that greatly affect their quality of life. Tobacco products can cause lung, heart, fertility and other health problems. 

Commercial tobacco use (such as cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco) is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability and premature death in Alberta, and increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, oral cancers, chronic lung disease, diabetes and other illnesses. It may take several quit attempts to succeed. 

Albertans ages 50 to 74 who smoke cigarettes, or who’ve quit after smoking for many years, may also be eligible for lung cancer screening. Talk to your primary care provider, call 1-866-727-3926 or visit screeningforlife.ca/lung for more information.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.