Next Wednesday, Jan. 20, is
Cold Turkey Day, the day when
a coalition of health groups en-
courages smokers to call it quits
once and for all.

Cold Turkey Day is held in
conjunction with National Non-
Smoking Week, Jan. 14-20. The
campaign is supported by the
B.C. Lung Association, the B.C.
Pharmacists Society, the B.C.
Heart Foundation, the Adven-
tist Health Network, the Cana-
dian Cancer Society, and
Registered Nurses Association
of B.C.

For smokers who want to kick

‘the habit and never look back,

the group offers the following
advise:

How to quit
Quitting smoking isn’t easy. If
it were, people wouldn’t practise
doing it.
But there are some tried and
true tips that have helped others
butt out for good in the past.

And they can work for you, too,

» Review — Wednesday, January 13; 1988

Cold Turkey Day
comes next week .

if you are among the thousands ‘ 7 uo
of smokers who plan to quit

smoking Jan. 20.

Because smoking tobacco pro-
ducts leads to a strong addic-
tion, it is a difficult habit to
break and takes some leading up
to. It will help to list your
reasons for quitting, or at least
to talk them over with friends,
before you actually try to quit.
Gradually cutting down to a
“core level’’ of cigarettes smok-
ed each day is also a good first
step. (For most smokers, that
number ranges from eight to

_ twelve cigarettes, smoked at key

times in the day.)

If you can find a friend to quit
with you, so much the better.
Encouragement from someone
who understands what you are
going through is invaluable. It’s
also a good idea to enlist support
of others, such as family
members and co-workers, Tell
them you are planning to quit
and that you would appreciate
their help.

Build some motivation into
quitting smoking. The Canadian
Cancer Society says most
smokers burn up $500 a year
with their habit. Plan to do
something special with the
money you'll save, and don’t
wait to start rewarding yourself.
Everyday without cigarettes is
worth celebrating and ‘con-
tributes to the body’s recovery
of the damage caused by smok-
ing. —
When Cold Turkey Day ar-
rives, be cold-hearted with any
cigarettes that might still be in
the house. Get rid of them as
well as smoking paraphernalia
like ashtrays and lighters. And,

continued on page 23

Tobacco use perceived
as a feminist issue

‘Commentary

_by Mary Bowering

Lung cancer is replacing
breast cancer as the leading
cause of cancer deaths amoung
women. There is clearly proven.
cause and effect between smok-,
ing and the incurable disease of
lung cancer. Women smokers on
the birth control pill are at in-

creased risk of heart attacks,

strokes and cervical cancer.
There.are a variety of complica-
tions for the pregnant woman
associated with smoking, for ex-
ample, spontaneous abortions
and low birthweight.

Although smoking levels in
the general population are
decreasing, teenage girls and
young women (age 20 - 24 years)
are the only consumers continu-
ing to increase their use of
cigarettes. January 14-20 is Na-
tional Non-Smoking Week in
Canada. This year, the thrust of
the campaign is to sensitize
women to the health hazards of
cigarette smoking.

In this article, I wish to ex-
plore some of the social and
political aspects of cigarette
smoking amoung women.
Although young women are in-
tellectually aware of the physical
dangers, they are continuing to
smoke. They are unable to resist
the peer pressure.

The decision - to smoke or not
to smoke - is an adult decision.
For the young male, there is a
wider variety of adult decisions.
Societal expectations and
models still encourage males to
be more active and visable, more

" in the leadership role, for exam-

ple, driving cars, being active in
sports, holding jobs with higher
wages. Smoking is an easy and
passive way for a girl to adopt
an adult lifestyle and assert in-
dependence.

“Women’s body image as
presented by the media is ex-
tremely influential in a woman’s
decision to smoke. Cigarettes do
not cause that unattractive fat
-in fact, you can substitute

‘cigarettes for food and /ose fat!

The advertising companies take
full advantages of this when they

regularly use words like slender,
long, ultra-light, slims, ultra-
long, lean and thin. Phillip Mor-
ris Inc. is introducing a new
brand of cigarette - Star - asa
fashion accessory. Its package
will be changed 5 times a year to
co-ordinate with the seasons. It

-will target young, ‘‘upscale’’ .

smokers. The tobacco advertis-
ing industry would appear to be
desperate!

Young women are encouraged
and trained to be care-givers, to
take care of their families and
friends before themselves. It
becomes easier to smoke to
fulfill the need for. relaxation
and stress reduction, leaving
more energy to take care of
others. This expectation of the
cheerful, patient and charming

. care-giver also makes it more

difficult for women in their
struggle to overcome the addic-
tion.

Anyone who smokes feels a
little bit guilty. This affects the
smoker’s whole psychological
life. They wish they would and
could quit. From a_ feminist
viewpoint, women feel even
guiltier than men because they
are “supposed to” be more con-
cerned with health. This guilt
and low self-esteem inhibits
assertiveness and prevents
women from being as powerful
as they could be. |

However, tobacco advertisers
promote their product as a sym-
bol of liberation, emancipation,
and equality. ‘‘You’ve come a
long way, baby’? is a most
familiar slogan. Themes of sex-

ual. attraction and freedom are

especially attractive to teenage
girls.

Since the public is becoming
even more aware of the
unhealthy results of smoking

and of second hand smoke as .

well, tobacco companies are
directing more advertising

toward women and third world -

countries for the sale of their
product.

Considering the seriousness of
this health issue for women,
there is surprisingly little infor-

mation available in women’s —

magazines. It is possible that

women’s magazines depend
upon the revenue from tobacco .

advertising and. therefore do not
point out the extreme dangers.
Studies show that the best
coverage of smoking and health
issues occurs in magazines, like
Reader’s Digest, that do not ac-
cept cigarette advertising.
Anti-tobacco legislation is

presently before the House of,

Commons. Bill C-51, the Tobac-

continued on page 23

The

| STORK |

\| The underground
life of felines

- by Stephanle Wiebe

We North Americans are cat
people. The popularity of Gar-
field, Heathcliff, and Morris
shows this to be a fact, and these
cats are a million-dollar
business. ae .

My cat’s name is Nosebag,
but I’ve never made any money
off of him. He’s just an old grey
furry parasite, basking in the
generosity of our family, eating
and sleeping his days away. If J
did that, they’d kick me out.

We've invested a fair amount
of money in this animal. The
veterinarian is always happy to
see us. I do get a chuckle when
we visit his office, though. The
nurse appears with the file, and
with a straight face, says,
‘“‘Nosebag Wiebe?” I half expect
the cat to leap off my lap and
follow her into the consultation
room, chatting about the
weather.

The most interesting part of
our cat’s life involves the
neighborhood cat mafia. We
discovered that our garbage bags
were being molested in the
backyard, though they’re fenced
in and there’s no roaming dogs
around. My husband concluded
that this had to be the work ofa

“gang of marauding kittie, =

Nosebag spends his nights com-
fortably snuggled with humans,.
so we knew he was innoceit. But .
we figured he’d know the scoop

on this feline syndicate, so my

husband and I cornered him one

night.

“(All right, Nosebag, spill it’’,
I said in my toughest’ voice.
Unimpressed, Nosebag settled in -
for a nap. .

My husband was. ruthless.
“7H slap him around a bit.”

_“No, you won't, He’ll talk.
Come on, furbag, we know
you’re holding back.’’ No
response. We knew then, he'd
obviously been threatened by
kitty henchmen, to keep quiet.

Soon after, our neighbor’s
cat, a colorful lug named
Charlie, was found dead at the
side of the road. Most people
assumed he was hit by a car. We
know better. We figure the
ringleader is a white cat called
Fluff. Fluff suspiciously lurks
around, casually casing our gar-
bage.

Nosebag stays indoors now,
only venturing out for the occa-
sional call of nature..Mostly, he
just eats and sleeps at our ex-
pense. It’s a cat’s life.

and see what it's all about.

We look forward to seeing you!

The Toastmasters Club meets on the first and third Tuesday of avery
month at Caledonia Sr. Secondary School, room 3, at 7:30 p.m. Drop In -

Do you need a break? Come to COFFEE BREAK, an inter.
denominational Bible study for women. FREE nursery for infant? and
toddlers. Chitdren ages 3 to 5 will love Storyhour. Every Wednesday,
9:45 am. to 11 am. at the Christlan. Reformed Church, corner of
Sparks and Straume. No previous knowledge expected. For more ine
formation or transportation, call Hilda at 635-7871 or Ruth at 635-2621.

REPORT

Is the Stork about to visit you?
Let everyone know about the happy event

by having it printed in the

Terrace Review. Forms are available at the hospital.

MALLETT — Born to Darcy and Pam (Alaric) a daughter Carley Morgan, 8 Ibs. 13% oz.
on January 6, 1988 at Cariboo Memorial Hospital, Williams Lake, B.C. A sister for
Britney Ashley. A second grandchild for Murray and Dianne Alaric, Dave Mallet of
Prince George and Laurie Mallett of Ontario.

COBURN SPERANDIO & THORSTEINSO

N — Born to Linda Coburn Sperandio and

Stewart Thorsteinson on December 14, 1987, a baby girl, Larissa Stella Ellise, .
welghing 6 Ibs, 10 oz. Thanks to Dr. Van Herk.

FLOWERS
ATLA CARTES

Mombor oj AFS Wire Service

24-hour Phone |
(604)635-4080

Skeena Mall