For the thousands of Edmontonians that will resolve to quit smoking this New Year’s Day, local company Odor Zap is lending a hand.

Throughout January 2011, Odor Zap will remove cigarette smells at no charge from the vehicles of those who are quitting smoking. Odor Zap will accept donations of any size to the Alberta/NWT Division of the Canadian Cancer Society.

“Over the years, we’ve talked to clients who say that the smell of cigarettes in their cars reminds them of smoking and can even trigger a relapse,” says Michael Sunley, President of Odor Zap and Chief Odor Zapper. “If we can help a few people quit for the long haul, we’d be thrilled.”

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, cigarette smoking causes about 30% of cancers in Canada and more than 85% of lung cancers. In Alberta in one year alone, nearly 1,800 people were diagnosed, and approximately 1,500 died due to lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.

For more information about how to quit smoking, visit the Canadian Cancer Society website at http://www.cancer.ca/Alberta-NWT/Prevention/Quit%20smoking.aspx?sc_lang=en.

To book an I Quit Smoking vehicle treatment, call 780-701-7601 or email info@odorzap.com.

Terms:

This promotion is valid in the Edmonton corporate limit area. Outside this area, the offer is valid with the addition of a 50¢ per kilometre travel fee.

Odor Zap provides a mobile service. For the purpose of this treatment, the vehicle may be in a garage or outdoors.

We require a source of electricity.

Free treatments will be booked during January 2011.

Recommendations:

For the best results from this treatment, we recommend cleaning the interior of the vehicle, including cleaning the ashtrays, removing garbage, and vacuuming if possible.

Why quit?

If you need inspiration for quitting smoking, check out the information below from the Canadian Cancer Society.

You probably don’t need to be told that smoking is bad for you. But what are the benefits of quitting? 

Quit now and reduce your risk of cancer

In Canada, it is estimated that smoking is responsible for 30% of all cancer deaths and is related to more than 85% of lung cancer cases. 

• The more you smoke and the longer you smoke, the more you increase your risk of developing lung cancer. But within 10 years of quitting, an ex-smoker’s overall risk of dying from lung cancer is cut in half.
• If you quit, your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, bladder and cervix decreases.

Quit now and breathe better

Even relatively light smoking may cause lung damage because smoking is repetitive, and the effects of inhaling add up over time. If you’re a smoker, you may have noticed that you:

• feel out of breath when walking up a short flight of stairs
• cough a lot
• spit up mucus
• have repeat chest infections

These are not signs of aging or being out of shape. They are signs that smoking is damaging your lungs.

Quit and feel better in so many other ways

The single best thing you can do to improve your health is to quit smoking. And the improvements start almost right away. As soon as you stop smoking, your body begins to cleanse itself of tobacco poisons. Here’s how:

• Oxygen levels in your blood increase and carbon monoxide levels drop within 8 hours.
• Your sense of smell and taste begin to improve after 2 days.
• You’ll find it easier to breathe within 2 weeks to 3 months because your lungs are working better.
• Coughing, sinus congestion, tiredness and shortness of breath improve within 6 months.
• Your risk of a smoking-related heart attack is reduced by half after 1 year. 

How to quit

These websites offer great quit-smoking programs.

Click to Quit

Find support from others trying to quit smoking. Users can talk to their QuitBuddies in an online chat room, get Quit tips by e-mail or interact directly with QuitNet’s expert counsellors. Find support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you don’t have to quit alone.

Health Canada – On the Road to Quitting

Helps you move through the stages of quitting online. Provides information on why people smoke, suggests ways to prepare to quit and tools to deal with withdrawal.

Quit 4 Life

A 4-step, 4-week online program to help 12- to 18-year-olds quit smoking.

Tips for quitters

Here are some helpful stop-smoking tips from Health Canada.

One of the best and most significant steps anyone can take on the road to better health is to quit smoking. For some it’s simple and easy. Others have to plan carefully and follow through on every small step.

Here are a few tips to help you along the journey.

1. Make a for-and-against list that you can always refer to through the process of quitting. In one column write down your reasons for smoking and in the other your reasons for quitting.
2. Write down your plan for quitting, which can include your reasons, potential pitfalls, stages of progress, and how you’ll deal with temptations.
3. Think positively, especially by focusing one day at a time on each of your achievements.
4. Be sure to ask for help and support from those around you. Having at least one friend you can count on and share your feelings with may improve your chances of quitting for good. If your partner smokes, see if you can encourage him or her to join you on your journey.
5. Decide whether you’re going to quit cold turkey or gradually, and what kind of professional support services you want to use, if any. You may want to consider counselling, group programs or nicotine replacement therapies.
6. Learn about and prepare yourself for possible withdrawal symptoms.
7. If you slip, don’t be too hard on yourself — keep focused on sticking to your quit plan. Look at what triggered the lapse and figure out how to handle it differently next time. A slip or two does not mean you’ve failed in your effort to quit.
8. Don’t worry about weight gain, it doesn’t happen to everyone and is often insignificant when it does. Control it by sticking to the same diet you usually eat, choosing low-calorie snacks, and by increasing exercise and physical activity.
9. If you experience cravings, try the four Ds: Delay, Distract, Deep Breathing and Drink Water.
10. If you believe you’re someone who smokes to deal with stress, look into new ways of coping; there are many.

So far the content really hasn’t changed much but it’s a lighter, fresher look than what we had before and this new format will be much easier to update and keep you current on what’s going on at Odor Zap.

We’re going to have more about odor triage (what to do when you first find a bad smell: hint, don’t steam clean carpets and don’t Febreze®), some simple and proven things you can do before you call us and even share some of the tools and techniques that we use every day to make this world smell a little better.

Stick around, check it out and don’t be shy about leaving a comment about things you’d like to see. We’re paying attention.

Thanks,

Mike Sunley – Chief Odor Zapper