South Australian smokers are once again planning to put away their cigarettes for the fourth annual ‘Quit your way in May’ campaign.
‘Quit your way in May’ is a quit smoking event that emphasises the importance of smokers quitting their own way. It establishes the May 1 quit date, provides platforms for participants to quit alongside other community members, and celebrates their quit smoking attempts with lots of encouragement.
The 2023 ‘Quit your way in May’ campaign achieved 550 registrations and over 9000 visits to the Quit your way in May website, indicating considerable interest surrounding the event and in quitting smoking.
Of participants surveyed one month after the 2023 event, 69% had remained smoke free.
A variety of resources are provided to registrants including evidence-based quitting strategies, quitting tools such as the My QuitBuddy app, and distraction techniques to assist quitters to combat their cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Registrants can sign up for regular emails of support from ‘Quit your way in May’ that offer advice on quitting smoking, distraction techniques and words of encouragement to set participants up for ultimate success.
Registrants can also participate in the ‘Quit your way’ Facebook support group, which has been reported by previous participants as being a highly valuable source of support.
In 2024, ‘Quit your way in May’s’ advertisement with animated buddies will be back, demonstrating different distraction techniques.
This year, vaping cessation resources will also be linked on the ‘Quit your way in May’ website.
Participants are encouraged to visit their doctor for support to quit smoking.
Clinicians can help the ‘Quit your way in May’ event by supporting smokers to quit and encouraging them to register at quityourwayinmay.com.au.
Free online training for health professionals to assist smokers to quit is available at www.quit.org.au/resources/quit-education/quit-training/.
2023 ‘Quit your way in May’ facts and stats:
More than 90% of participants surveyed would recommend ‘Quit your way in May’ to a friend.
86% of respondents reported they had made a quit attempt, 11% had cut down on the amount they smoke, and 3% had not made a quit attempt or cut down. Of those respondents who made a quit attempt (n=32), 69% remained quit.
The most commonly used QYWIM tools of those surveyed were the registrant support emails, smoking cost calculator, quitting plan and distractions tool.
‘Quit your way in May’ 2023 Ambassador update
“After doing Quit Your Way In May, I have been able to almost cut out the cigarettes. I’m still having the odd one here and there, especially under stressful times and working in radio, there’s plenty of them. What have you got to lose from giving it a go yourself! The long-term gains have been well worth it for me, both financially and physically”
For more successful quitting stories, visit www.besmokefree.com.au/why-should-i-quit/success-stories/
