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Six Steps to Stop
Smoking
Dr. Ellie Campbell
Do you want to quit smoking? Congratulations! You are on the first step of a path that
leads to being a non-smoker. It is not
an easy path, but the rewards in the end are many. If you are reading this, you are likely a
smoker, or love someone who is. I hope
this article provides some helpful quit strategies.
1.
Get
Ready. Set a quit date; change your environment – throw away the ashtrays, get your car detailed so
you won’t want to get it dirty; tell everyone of your quit date. Do not smoke
and don’t hang around others who do.
2.
Get Support. Now is the
time to pull in your favors. Ask
everyone around to help support you, talk to your primary health provider. Get
evaluated for depression if you think it is contributing. Consider counseling, even if you are not
depressed, it can double your quit success rate. Call 1-877-270-STOP from
3.
Learn
new skills and behaviors. Smoking is very habit driven. Nicotine is a
powerful anti-depressant (due to its effect on brain dopamine biochemistry).
Many smokers are self-treating their depression, and quitting worsens their
symptoms.
Smokers have ingrained triggers and habits which are hard to break. You need to
establish new healthier habits. If drinking coffee is a trigger, switch to tea.
If dessert is a trigger, skip it for a while. Try going for a walk after a meal
instead of smoking. Work on new forms of stress reduction – take a bath, read a
book, learn “Lamaze” breathing exercises. Take the long way to work, so stop
lights aren’t triggers.
4.
Use medication correctly. There are two primary forms of medications used:
nicotine and aminoketones. Nicotine replacements are mostly over-the-counter,
but bupropion (Zyban or Wellbutrin) requires a
physician’s prescription. Most people use nicotine incorrectly (by too
infrequent dosing) so carefully read the package directions. Also, the highest
success rates use both drugs together. I have seen some success with the laser
treatment and with hypnotherapy. Some practitioners use herbs such as Echinacea
to reduce cravings, and ginseng which may be calming. I am not a fan of the
single shot of atropine given in some clinics.
5.
Be prepared for relapse or difficult
situations. They will happen. The average quitter quits 5
times before they stay quit forever. Put another way, each time you quit, your
chances are better that this time will be the final one. You learn tricks from
yourself about triggers and pitfalls. If you find yourself tempted, look at
that cigarette and talk to it. “Do I really want you, or are you just a habit?
Who is more powerful, me or this little white stick?”
6.
Take it one cigarette at a time, and eventually, you can become a former smoker!
Remember misconceptions are common. Ideas that “the damage is done” or “it
won’t help” are misinformed. Even in disabled lung disease patients dependent
on supplemental oxygen, quitting can prolong life by over 5 years!
After your last cigarette:
- In
20 minutes, blood pressure and body temperature normalize
- In
8 hours, carbon monoxide levels drop to normal
- In
24 hours the risk for heart attack begins decreasing
- In
14 to 90 days, blood flow improves and lung function increases
- In
one year, risk of coronary heart disease is half that of smokers
- In
5 years, risk of stroke is the same as a non-smoker
- In
10 years, risk of lung cancer is cut in half.
Additional
information can be found at:
·
American Cancer
Society www.cancer.org
·
American Heart
Association www.amhrt.org
·
CDC’s Office of
Smoking and Health www.cdc.gov/tobacco
Dr. Ellie Campbell is a Board-certified family
physician with clinical interests in women's health, wellness, complementary
and alternative care. Campbell Family Medicine is located at 3925 Johns Creek
Court Suite A, Suwanee, GA 30024.
For more information, her phone number is 678.474.4742,
website is www.campbellfamilymedicine.com,
and email address is dr@campbellfamilymedicine.com
The Highest Level is the monthly e-mail newsletter of the
© Humber Parkerson Clinic 2006
June 2006 issue of The
Highest Level
