Smoking - Spotlight on Smoking Cessation
It’s never too late to quit smoking. This article briefly lists the health risks of smoking and then describes a number of tools and techniques that can help you quit.
When someone thinks of the risks of smoking, the first thing that comes to mind is usually cancer, especially lung cancer. According to the American Lung Association, 87% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of harmful substances, called carcinogens, which have been proven to cause cancer. In addition to cancer, smoking has been shown to cause other lung and breathing problems (such as bronchitis and emphysema), heart disease, and stroke, and smoking can worsen asthma and pneumonia.
Smoking is not only harmful to the smoker. Secondhand, or passive smoke can cause health problems in people, including family, friends and co-workers, who come in regular contact with a smoker. Pregnant women who smoke put their babies at risk for early birth (preemies), low birth weight, and, once the baby is born, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Quitting smoking is difficult because nicotine, one of the harmful chemicals in tobacco, is addictive. Nicotine acts as a stimulant, increasing alertness and good feelings. However, once the effects of nicotine wear off, a person often feels depressed and tired, and feels a strong urge to light up a new cigarette to bring back the “high.” The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported that, in 2003, 25% of all adult Pennsylvanians identified themselves as current cigarette smokers. In addition, 25% of Pennsylvania adults in 2003 described themselves as former cigarette smokers. Hence, half of adult Pennsylvanians have never smoked cigarettes. It is also encouraging that, among those Pennsylvania adults who were currently smoking everyday in 2003, 47% had quit for at least one day in the past year.
So there is hope, and there are several ways to stop smoking, both on your own and with a doctor’s help. If you decide to try stopping on your own, consider the following steps:
Cut back - One method of quitting is to gradually cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke each day before your quit date.
Read - Get booklets, pamphlets and other materials from organizations such as the American Cancer Society that can give you encouragement and advice while you’re quitting.
Group support - Many communities have groups of smokers who meet and help support each other as they quit smoking.
Internet support - There are a lot of opportunities online to get support and encouragement from other people trying to quit. An example is QuitNet (http://www.quitnet.org), operated in association with the Boston University School of Public Health.
Cold turkey - This is the opposite of cutting back, you quit suddenly. Since nicotine is an addictive substance, quitting cold turkey can be very difficult. You may experience withdrawal symptoms, including aches and pains, loss of appetite, restlessness, and irritability.
Exercise - Exercise is important for overall health, and exercising can relax you and help take your mind off smoking.
Other people - Friends and family can help by being available to contact when you are feeling anxious or tempted to smoke or to help share your victories, such as another day smoke free.
You can also get professional help with quitting:
Nicotine replacement medication - Certain medications, available by prescription and over the counter, offer nicotine replacement, providing increasingly smaller doses of nicotine without the other dangers of smoking. This allows you to wean yourself off nicotine and eliminate the physical addiction associated with smoking. Examples of nicotine replacement medications are: patch (worn on the skin like a Band-Aid), chewing gum, inhaler (like an asthma inhaler), lozenges (similar to sore throat lozenges), and nasal spray.
Other prescription medication - Bupropion (brand names: Zyban, Wellbutrin) is a medication that can help reduce your urge to smoke. Bupropion does not provide nicotine replacement.
Edited by Walter Tsou, MD, MPH, President of the American Public Health Association, principal of Tsou Consulting, and a Fellow of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.