September 1, 2021
As an employer, you’re always trying to find ways to improve the health and well-being of your workforce. Helping them to quit smoking with a smoking cessation challenge is a great way to address a major health concern, while possibly reducing overall health care costs.
Of course, it’s a personal choice to smoke, but by offering your employees the support of this smoking cessation challenge, you may be giving them the incentive they’ve been seeking to finally quit.
Why Is Smoking Such an Issue?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States.
The health impact of smoking accounts for more than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths and more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease.1
While current smoking – defined as people who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and consider themselves a current smoker – has been on the decline over the last decade, 14% of all Americans (34.1 million adults) are still smokers.2
Those who smoke are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.1 Studies have proven that smoking can diminish overall health, increase absenteeism from work and multiply health care utilization and cost.1
The Immediate Benefits of Quitting
When a smoker quits, they begin reaping several healthy benefits:3
Within a Few Days
- The impact of smoking on heart rate and blood pressure diminishes within a few days.
- Carbon monoxide in the blood declines, increasing blood’s ability to carry oxygen.
With a Few Weeks
- Circulation improves.
- Smoker’s cough is reduced, with less phlegm and wheezing.
Within a Few Months
- The risks of cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases are lowered.
No matter how old a smoker is, those who successfully quit smoking enjoy substantial gains in life expectancy, compared with those who continue to smoke. Those who cease smoking by forty years of age reduce their chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases by about 90 percent, while those from age 45-54 reduce their risk by nearly 66 percent.4
As for the benefit to employers, the CDC estimates that they can save nearly $6,000 a year in the medical bills associated with smoking and other related expenses when an employee quits smoking.
Helping Your Workforce Get Started
Deciding to stop smoking is one of the most difficult challenges that someone can face in their life. Only seven percent of those that want to quit can do so without any help whatsoever.5 Others will need help from coaches, nicotine patches, prescription drugs and long-term support. It’s essential to remember that helping people to quit smoking isn’t something that will be quick and easy. Instead, it’s going to require a holistic approach to the entire individual.
KEEP READING: How To Develop A Successful Employee Wellness Program
Smoke-Free Challenge Tips
Just as everyone starts smoking for different reasons, everyone tends to approach quitting differently. Some may be able to go cold turkey, while others will require some help along the way. Here are a few tips to help along the way:
- Set up a meeting time once a week for support back and forth discussion. People generally do better at quitting smoking when they have the support of others.
- Give rewards. Encourage employees who make it to set intervals with increasingly larger rewards, such as a smaller reward for 30 days and then incremental awards the longer that employees remain smoke-free.
- Share helpful tips. Experts believe that even small moments of physical activity, including running up and down your steps, may get your mind away from your smoke cravings.6 Another way cravings can be satisfied include biting down on crunchy foods such as raw carrots, nuts, celery or sunflower seeds.6
- Create a trade-in program. Allow smokers who get rid of their cigarettes and vaping pens/fluid to exchange them for nicotine replacement options or behavioral replacements for smoking, which may include sugar-free lollipops and gum.
- Write encouraging messages. For those considering quitting, words of encouragement can be a huge help. This may be a great feature for your company newsletter or intranet.
- Lead by example. If you’re a current smoker, set an example by being part of the challenge. If you’ve already quit, consider sponsoring someone or the entire team.
- Be inclusive. This could be a great challenge to offer to your employees’ spouses, as often smoking triggers include smoking with a friend, loved one or partner.
What If Your Workforce is Working-From-Home (WFH)?
As we’re all well aware, our work lives have changed in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. If you have employees working from home or part of a hybrid model, you can still encourage them to stop smoking by offering virtual support meetings and sending care packages to their homes. Otherwise, they should still be able to take part in this challenge, which may be welcome, because with more time at home comes more opportunities to smoke.
Help Is a Call or Text Away
The National Cancer Institute has a stop smoking care line at 877-448-7848 (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., EST) with trained counselors who can offer advice and resources to those seeking to stop smoking.
Smokefree.com, a service offered by the National Cancer Institute, has several tools for those in smoking cessation programs. One that is incredibly helpful is the Practice Quitting Program Daily Challenges, which sends users daily challenges that work to build their quitting skills, as well as help them manage cravings and better understand the emotional and physical triggers that get them to light up.
Going Smoke-Free Takes Time
To be successful, your smoke-free challenge must be part of an overall smoking cessation program that includes counseling, medication such as nicotine gum and patches, and ongoing support. This is the type of endeavor that can pay major dividends for the health of your entire workforce, so be patient, supportive and open to evolving your program. Like anything worth doing, the effort will truly pay off.
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References:
1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Accessed July 12, 2021.
2 Cornelius ME, Wang TW, Jamal A, Loretan C, Neff L. Tobacco Product Use Among Adults – United States, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2021.
3 National Cancer Institute. Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting. Last updated December 19, 2017. Accessed July 12, 2021.
4 New England Journal of Medicine 2013; 368(4):341–350. 21st-Century Hazards of Smoking and Benefits of Cessation in the United States.
5 American Cancer Society. Making a Plan to Quit and Planning Your Quit Day. Accessed July 12, 2021.
6 Mayo Clinic: Quitting Smoking: 10 Ways to Resist Tobacco Cravings. Updated May 5, 2020. Accessed July 16, 2021.