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Stop smoking is possible!

Press Release (31/05/2018)

journée sans tabacStop smoking is possible!
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day the Jules Bordet Institute separates the myths from the facts

Brussels, 30 May 2018 – Stopping smoking. A lot of smokers speak about it but how many of them really take up this important personal challenge? With World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, the Jules Bordet Institute wants to shed light on preconceived ideas that tend to discourage smokers from trying to break the habit. We separate the myths from the facts with Martial Bodo, tobaccologist at the Smokers' Help Centre at the Jules Bordet Institute, the integrated centre in the fight against cancer and a reference in Belgium.

"Stopping smoking is too difficult!"
MYTH: "Attitudes have changed and today it is much more difficult to smoke than not to smoke. Socially, professionally, economically, medically and in family life, cigarettes make life hard for the smoker. Without any doubt, cigarettes make a smoker's life much more complicated than that of a non-smoker."

"After a certain age there is no point stopping smoking because it's too late!"
MYTH: "Stopping smoking very quickly improves the quality of life of any smoker. Apart from the clear economic advantages and the social aspects as mentioned above, the person who quits smoking very quickly experiences major and directly measurable physical improvements. In the first 24 hours an almost complete restoral of the heart rate is observed. Within 48 hours the breathing quality improves and within 72 hours no more traces of carbon monoxide are found in the breath. Within a week the ex-smoker recovers a large part of the lost sense of smell and taste. These are all benefits that undoubtedly improve the quality of life of all concerned. Apart from reducing the risk of developing a smoking-related diseases, it is the quality of life that improves, and very quickly."

"If I stop smoking I will put on weight"
MYTH: "If to compensate for the fact of stopping smoking you decide to eat more and badly, of course you will put on weight but it is not stopping smoking that causes the weight increase but the bad eating habits you may adopt. If you choose to compensate strategically for the absence of the cigarette by adopting a balanced diet in terms of quantity and quality there will be no weight gain. More than that, if when you stop smoking you invest the benefits in new activities such as sport or a leisure activity, you are then finding "nourishment" in good things other than food."

"The occasional cigarette does no harm."
MYTH: "First let us be quite clear: 'occasional' smokers represent just 3% of smokers, the remaining 97% showing a pharmacological, psychological and behavioural dependency on the cigarette. Also note that the studies and experience of our doctors show that even 'occasional smokers' expose themselves to health problems directly linked to smoking. The cigarette is a highly toxic product in the face of which we are not all equal."

A team of professional and experienced tobaccologists available to smokers seeking to quit.
The famous "I will stop tomorrow" should not remain a resolution for New Year's Day or World No Tobacco Day. Every day smokers make the major decision to stop smoking. At the Jules Bordet screening clinic a team of tobaccologists is on hand to support and accompany smokers who want to quit.
Consultations take place at the Jules Bordet Institute screening clinic. They are available to all and reimbursed by your health insurance. Consultations can be in French, Dutch or English.

 


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