Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in Australia and New Zealand, yet more than 20 percent of adults seem helplessly addicted to tobacco. You can up your odds of beating this life-threatening habit by combining several proven therapies.
What is happening
You know you want to quit smoking and you also know why: It's ever clear that smoking will take a terrible toll on your health (if it hasn't already)--not to mention your wallet, your looks and your social life. Then how come you're having so much trouble quitting? Studies show it time and again: nicotine ranks as the world's most addictive drug, ahead of both cocaine and heroin. When you inhale tobacco (in the form of chewing tobacco or snuff), it's absorbed through the mucous membranes of your mouth. Once it's in your bloodstream, after two or three pumps of your heart, you've got the most addictive drug on the planet in your brain. There it boosts key brain chemicals such as adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine, making you feel more energetic, amazingly clearheaded, even euphoric.
As with all addictive substances, however, you'll need more and more nicotine to produce these same positive reactions. Go too long without your next 'hit' and you enter withdrawal, becoming moody, lethargic and confused. This drug dependence comes at a high price. Smoke and tar from tobacco contain more than 4000 chemicals (including cyanide, benzene and formaldehyde), many of which are definitely linked to cancer. Tobacco also increases your risk for other diseases, including heart attack and stroke, early menopause, osteoporosis, chronic respiratory ailments and impotence, to name just a few. If that isn't enough to make you quit, keep the following facts in mind: smoking is linked to the deaths of nearly 10,000 people worldwide everyday, and each year 3.5 million people die from tobacco-related illnesses.
Amazingly, when you do quit, your health will improve virtually within hours of your last cigarette (see table on next). Moreover, the longer you abstain, the greater your chances of never smoking again. Though 60 to 90 percent of smokers will relapse during their first year of tobacco-free living, only 15 percent do so during their second year and a scant 2 to 4 percent after two years.
- Adopt a gradual with drawal plan, rather than going cold turkey.
- Curb cravings by eating better and exercising.
- Try a nicotine replacement product to ease withdrawal.
- Joint a support group and get counselling to increase your chances of success.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- How can I deal with stress without cigarettes?
- What can I do to prevent weight again?
- Given what you know about me, my health and my lifestyle, which replacement product do you think will help me most?
Treatments
Studies show that only a very small number of people who try to quit tobacco without a concrete plan or the support of friends are able to stay off it permanently. You can improve your odds dramatically by both planning ahead and combining a number of different treatment methods. In fact, the 'quit rate' from using a nicotine replacement product, such as the nictoine patch or inhaler, increases from 20 to 30 percent when you combine one or more of these products with counselling.
Treatment Options
MEDICATIONS
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Nicotine replacement Various products promote gradual quitting.
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Antidepressant Zyban reduces cravings and depression.
PROCEDURES
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Counselling Find a specailist in smoking cessation.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
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Don't go cold turkey Quit slowly over a month or more.
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Get support Tell everyone you're quitting.
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Limit alcohol Drinking diminishes willpower.
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Curb cravings With healthy foods, exercise and pastimes.
NATURAL METHODS
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Acupuncture Proven useful to control addictive behaviour.
TAKING CONTROL
- Do it for your kids. Children of smokers are 50% more likely to suffer asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia than those of nonsmokers. Put your kids at the top of your list of reasons to stop.
- Double your pleasure. Every day you don't smoke, set aside the money you would have spent on cigarettes. At the price they are today, it can add up quickly to a nice donation to a charity. And this good deed only reinforces your commitment.
- Get your risk estimated. Ask your doctor what your risk of heart disease is, taking into account factors such as your cholesterol level and your blood pressure. Then ask what your risk would be if you didn't smoke.
- Vigabatrin (Sabril), a prescription drug used to treat epilepsy, may eventually help smokers. Used in low doses, it's throught to block nicotine-induced increases in dopamine, a brain chemical that gives you that pleasurable 'nicotine' rush.
- Researchers are trying to develop a vaccine that will keep nicotine from reaching the brain and thus prevent the initial addiction. During experiments, scientists injected a single dose of nicotine into vaccinated rats and found that the amount of nicotine reaching the brain was reduced by two-thirds. Clinical trials with humans are not far off.
Rather than suddenly tossing your cigs into the rubbish and swearing never to smoke again--the famed 'cold turkey' method--you can double your chances of success by quitting in incremental steps (see box on shortly). Choose a time when you're not overly stressed. It's also good to put your commitment in writing: draft a 'quit contract' indicating your start date, then sign it and give it to a friend or family member. Also, tell as many people as possible that you're quitting and ask for their help. Research shows that having social support will increase your success rate significantly. During this time, avoid putting yourself in situations that can trigger your urge to smoke. For example, during the first weeks, stay away from joining friends at a bar where they and others are likely to be smoking (and drinking). In fact, limit alcohol in general while you're trying to quit, because it tends to reduce willpower.
Another key to success is to find new ways to satisfy your oral cravings. Fill your fridge with low-kilojoule 'rabbit' foods, such as carrots, celery and radishes. You can also chew sugarless or nicotine gum (see medications shortly). If you're concerned about gaining weight, start an exercise program. Not only will it help keep the kilos off, it may also reduce those cravings. Also keep your hands busy (pack-a-day smokers typically bring their hand to their mouth 400 times a day). Try computer games or such old-fashioned pastimes as knitting, sewing or writing letters.
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