UPDATE (December 14, 2018): Walk or Run to Quit programs for 2018 have ended. All Walk or Run to Quit options are currently on hold while new program delivery options are being evaluated. Check website for options and updates in 2019: www.runtoquit.com Walk or Run to Quit — a program run by the Canadian Cancer Society in partnership with the Running Room, aims to help smokers quit smoking by getting active and learning to walk or run 5 km. The program started as a pilot in 2013 in Ottawa and has since been offered nationwide. Participants have two options [...]

The New Brunswick Anti-Tobacco Coalition’s (NBATC) National Non-Smoking Week #SayNoToTobacco Facebook Contest winners Valérie Doiron St-Coeur (29, Brantville, NB) and Josée Mallais (36, Tracadie, NB) are an inspiring duo. You would never know upon meeting Valérie that she almost lost her life to cystic fibrosis. She lives a normal, healthy life these days thanks to a double lung transplant received in 2014. Her battle with the disease, deteriorating health, time spent in hospitals, and near-death experience have been a wake-up call to many friends and loved ones on how vital our lungs are. Friends like Josée Mallais have drawn [...]

Moncton Quit Coaches Christian Jasper (left) and Cindy Johnson (right) pose with Running Room founder John Stanton (centre). Physical activity is often recommended by health practitioners and is a powerful tool in a smokers’ arsenal to quit smoking. Exercise reduces cravings and helps manage withdrawal symptoms. That is the basis upon which the “Run to Quit” program is built. An initiative of the Canadian Cancer Society and the Running Room, it aims to help smokers quit by learning to walk or run 5 km. Participants can join a 10-week Run to Quit training program in-store at their local Running [...]

Denise McCluskey is the Development and Marketing Officer at Harvest House Atlantic in Moncton. The centre has been a staple of the city since 1997, offering an emergency homeless shelter, serving over 150 meals a day, and hosting several recovery and General Educational Development programs. Through a government program, the centre hired an employee to keep the location clean. Denise explains that no matter how well he cleaned the grounds, when she arrived to work in the morning, she found cigarette butts everywhere. "We encourage people not to smoke since we have an addictions recovery program, but we didn't [...]

Sandra Melanson started smoking when she was 15 years old. “From the very first inhale of tobacco smoke, I was hooked,” she recalls. “All my friends smoked back then; it was out of peer pressure that I started. We’d be smoking in the school yard and at the bus stop.” The 54-year-old was born in Germany and then moved to Canada with her family. She moved around quite a lot throughout her childhood and adolescence. She now lives in Dieppe, New Brunswick and has taken steps to kick the smoking habit for good. “I tried quitting three times in [...]

Dan “the piano guy” Maloney’s talent has been impressing audiences since the age of 15. An accomplished musician, this Saint John (New Brunswick) native has shared his joie de vivre and musical talent through shows in piano bars, nightclubs, conventions, trade shows, private parties and weddings with a mixture of classic hits, top star impersonations and comedy routines. Now at 57 years of age, Dan is set to inspire others with a catchy anthem about quitting smoking. The song has a universal appeal, yet is profoundly personal, for his proudest accomplishment to date is his victory over his nicotine [...]

For many people, quitting smoking can be one of the biggest challenges to overcome. It is a challenge that is often made easier with the support and encouragement of others. Often, the act of sharing a personal goal, like quitting smoking, with an attentive ear, getting the right resources and knowing that someone supports you and will follow up to encourage you along your journey are what you need to begin leading a healthier lifestyle. That’s the idea behind the défi "Qui Cesse Gagne!" (Biggest Quitter Challenge), which took place on January 29, 2015, and invited all residents in [...]

Brigitte Ouellette is a Respiratory Therapist and Certified Respiratory Educator at the Vitalité Health Network. As a member of the Acadian Peninsula’s Anti-Tobacco Coalition, she and her colleagues are always looking for interesting initiatives that can reach smokers and give them tools to live a healthier tobacco-free lifestyle. "Since smoking has a negative connotation and that smokers often feel judged by their peers, it’s often difficult to identify and approach smokers in our community in order to help them quit,” says Brigitte. One of the coalition’s newest program – Learn to Run for Smokers – is an innovative answer [...]

Robert Roy-Boudreau attributes training for a marathon with helping him to quit smoking, with the end result being the ability to fully live and celebrate life. His race began over a year ago and he’s been sharing his story ever since in order to encourage smokers and ex-smokers to live tobacco-free. Genuine, friendly and outgoing, this school principal (La Ruche School in Tracadie-Sheila) has been inspiring his teaching colleagues as well as parents with his enthusiasm for living life as a non-smoker. It’s impossible to hear Robert talk about his journey without feeling inspired to take action and start [...]