NEW YORK, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- About.com Health (www.about.com/health), the second-largest consumer health Web site in the United States (June 2008 Nielsen Online), announced it will expand its successful relationship with Healthy Monday, a project of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, which invites people to make health behavior changes each and every Monday. Through About.com Health's Quit Smoking Monday -- the Smoking Cessation blog (http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/tipsforquitting/a/HM.htm), readers will be encouraged to take the Monday pledge to quit smoking. The blog will also use Monday as a day to deliver new tips and motivational messages and help users create quit strategies that will trigger continuous efforts to stop smoking.
'By choosing Monday as your preferred quit date, you are building 52 opportunities into the year to commit to quitting smoking and celebrating your progress as you move ahead with your quit program,' said Terry Martin, About.com's Guide to Smoking Cessation. 'No longer will you be stuck in the limbo of indecision when thinking about smoking cessation. Your fresh start will now come around once every seven days.'
'We are thrilled to expand our relationship with About.com and applaud their efforts to provide this forum to help people quit smoking,' said Sid Lerner, founder and chairman of Healthy Monday. 'We know the adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for nearly one of every five deaths each year in the United States. Our movement is ultimately all about creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and quitting smoking is vital.'
Quit Smoking Monday is just one of the Healthy Monday strategies that About.com Health's expert Guides are using to increase the effectiveness of their health and prevention communications. About.com Health further extends its Healthy Monday messaging through the weekly Healthy Monday newsletter, which provides readers with important information each Monday, to help people cultivate a healthier lifestyle. Overseen by About.com's Longevity Guide, Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com's health Guides contribute to the newsletter each week. Mr. Stibich is a behavior change expert with experience helping individuals make lasting lifestyle changes, and one of over 80 credentialed health Guides, who cover topics ranging from heart disease to arthritis on the About.com Health Channel.
About Healthy Monday
Healthy Monday (http://www.healthymonday.org) introduces the idea of Monday as the weekly day of health. It's an innovative concept being applied to a variety of public health concerns all dedicated to improving the health of Americans. Healthy Monday is a project of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications with the support of 40 leading schools of public health as well as major health advocacy organizations, including the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society.
About About.com
Founded in 1996, About.com is one of the Web's leading producers of original content. The site's expert Guides provide users with accurate and unbiased information to help them live happier, healthier and more successful lives. About.com is one of the 15 most visited Web sites in the United States.
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
SOURCE Healthy Monday Campaign
