A recent study carried out for Health Canada's Tobacco Demand Reduction Strategy shows that many smokers would welcome smoking cessation programs offered by their employers.

The results, gathered from employees across Canada, reveal that 71% of smokers would like to quit in the next year and that 42% have a desire for employer support of cessation programs. Men, employees who perceive their health as poor and those who report high levels of home stress are among the first to want to quit smoking.

When probed about what prevents them from improving their health, smokers identify two major culprits: stress and the belief that improving health "is too hard." Fortunately, there are ways of alleviating stress and ways of making change easier.

Too much stress? Work and home stress both take their toll on smokers. The most commonly reported causes of work stress are mental fatigue, lack of feedback and time pressure. Home stress, on the other hand, is caused by lack of money, arguments with spouse or partner and having too much to do.

Dealing with stress can mean reducing it or removing it altogether. Stress management courses offer many helpful tips for reducing stress, not the least of which is to pursue regular physical activity. Removing the source of stress is more difficult and sometimes requires outside support. For example, employers can remove sources of employee stress through time management, financial management, modified work schedules, marital counselling and assisted day care.

Too hard? Butting out is certainly not easy. Some ex-smokers have found a tobacco addiction more difficult to overcome than dependence to highly addictive substances such as cocaine and heroin. Quitting is not a simple matter of willpower, as many non-smokers and even smokers believe. Smokers need to learn important skills before quitting, as the following questions illustrate:

• How will smokers deal with the discomfort and pain of nicotine withdrawal?
• How will they deal with the temptation to smoke again?
• Have they developed alternative methods of coping with work and family stress?

Health Canada's 1990 Health Promotion Survey indicates that as many as 4 in 5 smokers believe that quitting would improve their health and well-being. It is not enough to be intellectually convinced, however. Since we are beings of emotions, our hearts and nerves must be willing to make the change as well. That's where programs can help, through experiences that provide insights and teach skills.

Employers are among the best positioned to provide such programs. The highest proportion of smokers is found among 20-44 year olds, who constitute a large portion of the workforce. To top it all, many of them would appreciate help from their employers to stop smoking.