Quit smoking, eat healthier, get more exercise... New Year’s resolutions for 2017: on your marks, get set, go!
A new year means new resolutions… Just like at the start of every year, many of you are motivated to take control and improve your daily lives. "I'm going to quit smoking," "I'm going to drink less," "I'm going to eat better," and "I'm going to exercise more" are among the goals people set for themselves. To help you stick to them, Santé publique France offers remote support services that provide advice and tips to increase your chances of success.
How can you stick to your New Year’s resolutions in 2017 with Santé publique France?
'I'm quitting smoking'
Quitting smoking is the number one New Year’s resolution every year. Protecting your health and that of your loved ones, saving money—all are good reasons, and there are plenty of resources to help future ex-smokers.
If the desire is there, motivation often needs a little boost… Treatments with proven effectiveness can help you quit smoking and increase your chances of success.
Nicotine replacement therapies in the form of patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers, or oral sprays help you quit smoking without suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Medicare reimburses these treatments up to €150 per year. All you need is a prescription from a doctor, nurse, physical therapist, dentist, or midwife.
Cognitive and behavioral therapies help you learn to change your smoking habits and strengthen and maintain your motivation to stay smoke-free.
Varenicline and bupropion, available by prescription, also help reduce cravings.
E-cigarettes can also be a helpful tool for quitting or reducing smoking.
Because quitting smoking is a real challenge for many smokers, Santé publique France has created Tabac Info Service, an information and support program tailored to all types of smokers, from teenagers to adults. Tabac Info Service helps you choose the strategy that works best for you and supports you throughout your new smoke-free life.
Hotline 3989: advice and personalized, free support provided by tobacco specialists (free service + cost of a call), Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Website tabac-info-service.fr: online information, assessments to evaluate your addiction, ask a tobacco specialist a question, find contact information.
Mobile app: personalized and free coaching.
Facebook: share your experience and encourage former smokers on the page
'I Eat Better and Move More'
Another New Year’s resolution: eating a more balanced diet and getting more exercise every day. While the nutritional guidelines of the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS), essential for a healthy diet, are fairly well known, it’s not always easy to put them into practice in everyday life.
To help you eat a healthy diet while still enjoying your meals, the "Menu Generator," an online tool designed by Santé publique France, lets you create varied meal plans for several meals in just a few clicks—for free. In addition, since November 2016, mangerbouger.fr has offered you the chance to assess your level of physical activity through an online questionnaire (developed by the World Health Organization). You can also find activities that appeal to you or that fit naturally into your life by consulting the physical activity guides. And since staying active every day isn’t always easy with a busy schedule, the physical activity planner will help you organize your activities for the week. It has been shown that scheduling time for physical activity is an effective way to move from intention to action. So in 2017, no more excuses for not lacing up your sneakers.
'I’m cutting back on my alcohol consumption'
In France, alcohol consumption is closely tied to social interactions. Family dinners, drinks with friends, office farewell parties… there are many opportunities to have a drink with loved ones. While alcohol is often associated with socializing, frequent episodes of excessive drinking can be problematic.
According to the 2014 Health Barometer, 2 out of 10 French people have experienced a monthly episode of heavy episodic drinking, defined as 6 or more drinks on a single occasion.
Alcohol Info Service helps you reduce your alcohol consumption. This service provides a helpline and a website to guide and support you in a way that suits your needs.
1 Launched in 2001, the PNNS is a public health plan aimed at improving the population’s health by addressing one of its major determinants: nutrition. For the PNNS, nutrition is understood as the balance between dietary intake and energy expenditure resulting from physical activity.2 According to a survey conducted by Santé publique France in 2011, 74% of people over the age of 15 cite the guideline for fruits and vegetables, and 68% cite the guideline for the "meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs" group.
