National Non-Smoking Week has been observed for more than 37 years. It is one of the longest running and most important events in Canada’s ongoing public health education efforts. It's National Non-Smoking Week and Canadians are butting out more than ever before.

"The numbers of Canadians using commercial tobacco is drastically dropping year after year," said Healthy Living Facilitator for Southern Health Irene Ascough.

National Non-Smoking Week or (NNSW) is about educating those still suffering from nicotine addiction, to prevent people who do not smoke from beginning to smoke and becoming addicted to tobacco, to promote the right of individuals to breathe air unpolluted by tobacco smoke, and to assist in the attainment of a smoke-free society in Canada.

" An interesting little fact is that the majority of Canadians that have ever been smokers have now quit, and they have done that by quitting for an hour, a day, a week or more and it just slowly builds up to quitting for good," mentioned Ascough.

Ascough added that the decline in Canadian smokers is due to all the support and resources available.

Weedless Wednesday has been a focal point of NNSW since the beginning, focusing media and public attention on the benefits of cessation and the community resources available to help smokers quit. The idea behind Weedless Wednesday is to promote a "one day at a time" approach to quitting smoking, a concept that can be much more appealing to many smokers who are often discouraged when they think of an entire week, month, or even a lifetime without smoking, but who may be more open to a smoke free day.

" I want people to know that making quit attempts, trying and trying again can really get people to there goal of being smoke free. If we can change the definition of success and celebrate every time someone quits, whether that's for an hour, a day, a week or a lifetime, every quit counts so just don't quit quitting." explained Ascough.

She also mentioned that the Canadian Cancer Society in partnership with the Running Room is holding a program called Run To Quit. The program coaches tobacco users on how to get active and quit smoking. The program offers a chance to win cash prizes and if the person goes that extra step and stays smoke free and completes a five kilometre walk run event they could be eligible to win a 2017 Honda Civic. For more details visit http://www.runtoquit.com/