Take Down Tobacco Day of Action

Tobacco use is no joke. Each year, tobacco use kills one thousand North Dakotans and costs hundreds of millions of dollars in health care-related expenses. This April Fools’ Day, it’s time to tell Big Tobacco you won’t be fooled any longer when you quit tobacco and nicotine during Take Down Tobacco Day.

Why April Fools’? The tobacco industry pushes products that addict, sicken, and kill – and gets away with it. They fool users through marketing tactics like brightly-colored packaging and sweet flavors to make it seem harmless – only to hook another generation of users.

Take Down Tobacco Day is recognized annually across the country to raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use in the community and encourage youth to reject the tobacco industry’s deceptive marketing and stay tobacco-free. Tobacco and nicotine users in North Dakota are encouraged to Take Down Tobacco on April 1 by making it their day to quit. Local Public Health Units across the state and NDQuits, North Dakota’s phone and web tobacco cessation program, aid the effort by providing practical tools and educational resources to help anyone who wants to quit.

A quit plan is the best way to improve a tobacco user’s odds for success. A quit plan includes setting a quit date, like Take Down Tobacco Day, along with removing tobacco and nicotine products and triggers from the home and work environment, and replacing those items with healthy foods, stress-relieving aids, and reminders of why they chose to start living tobacco-free. Informing loved ones can also be very beneficial for additional support and motivation throughout the quitting process.

The resources available through Local Public Health Units across the state and NDQuits provide additional support in the form of personal coaching and nicotine replacement therapy medication. Free nicotine patches, nicotine gum, or nicotine lozenges are provided to qualified enrollees.

Learn more about Take Down Tobacco.