Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 14/00) - When it comes to bad habits, smoking cigarettes is among the most harmful. Unfortunately, it's also one of the hardest habits to kick.

Beyond making your teeth and fingers yellow, smoking can lead to a variety of harmful lung conditions including cancer. That being the case, 10 Fort Simpson parents gathered at a workshop at the Sa Naeah Pre-natal centre last Wednesday with a goal of becoming former smokers.

Hilda Wilkes, one of the participants in the workshop said there were a few tips offered that she had never tried, such as drinking a lot of water. She also found out that the first three minutes of a craving are the most intense. If you can withstand that, it becomes easier to cope.

Wilkes, who has quit cold turkey, said she hopes to beat her cigarette addiction for the sake of her own health and that of her children.

"I don't smoke around my children, but I don't want them to grow up seeing me smoke. I don't want them to start that," she said.

A smoker for 13 year, she has quit before. At times she has gone without a cigarette for years, but the addiction has always resurfaced.

"It is horrible," she said. "A lot of my family smoke; a lot of my friends smoke. It's really difficult to stay away from it. Being around it and seeing everybody else smoke, that's when my craving kicks in."

Other suggestions offered to participants in the workshop, which included a talking circle, was to try and be conscious of their habits, explained Lynn Wharton, Sa Naeah Pre-natal co-ordinator,.

"Some people light up a cigarette as soon as they get in their car, so decide on walking on where you need to go ... even if it's one trip a day," she said.

"One other thing that we did emphasize throughout the evening was if you want to quit, just keep trying. Don't see not being able to quit as a failure," she said. "If you've given up cigarettes for a day, then you've quit for a day and that's healthy, that's a positive thing."

Wharton said the workshop is part of the recently revived "Healthy Parenting" program. It will lead to an ongoing support group for smokers, she added.

"Being the new year and all, we were wondering how to get some people out and what might interest people and what they need, so we thought 'Let's go with what has to be the number one new year's resolution,'" she said.