Different Reasons Why We Smoke

I have personally quit a total of nine separate times for at least 3 months each time. This is not counting the numerous attempts of a day here or a day there. Each time I have quit, I have learned something else about how I was connected to my cigarette. The first time I quit, it seemed easy, too easy and I thought I could control my smoking. But I was wrong, I needed to learn about relapsing and how just one cigarette can lead to a whole pack.
Another time it was important to learn what to do with my hands and the hand to mouth motion. Chewing on coffee stirrers worked for me. Other times, it was learning how to handle social situations without smoking and having a cocktail. I used to run a social club and often smokers would come up to me with a cigarette in their hand and want to talk. I would excuse myself and say that I would be right back. As soon as they put out their cigarette, I would return and them tell them that I had recently quit and it was difficult for me to be around a lit cigarette. That put the emphasis on me changing, not on changing or making them wrong.
The last time I quit, I needed to learn to control my strong emotions. I had started again because I was so angry at someone else that I had no outlet to vent and I saw no option except to smoke. Each time I quit, I develop another tool for my toolbox in dealing with my addiction to nicotine. Just like a carpenter needs many different tools for different jobs, a smokers needs different tools to handle the many different way they are connected to their cigarettes.
Since I've quit at least 9 times, this also means that I relapsed 8 times before I was finally successful. Most smokers would have given up before that because we want to make it easy to quit, we just want it over with but for some people like me who are truly addicted to nicotine, we need all the help we can get--which is developing more tools for your toolbox.

Link Between Lung Cancer and Smoking

For years the tobacco companies said that smoking did not cause lung cancer. We now know that smokers are at a much higher risk of developing lung cancer and about 10% of all smokers will develop the disease. About 90% of all lung cancers are in smokers. This article tells of several genetic studies that are showing certain genetic traits that may make a person more likely to become addicted to smoking and also more likely to develop lung cancer. So reality might be that lung cancer is a relationship between heredity and environment. Lung cancer has been so fatal because it is usually found late after it has already spread but a new type of CAT scan, a spiral CAT Scan can find tumors that are small enough to be treatable. This test is not covered by insurance because it hasn't been proved that the survival rate of finding a lung cancer tumor when it is smaller increases life expectancy but it only makes sense to find it as early as you can.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/576699?src=mp&spon=17&uac=103794FK

Smokers Age Faster and Wrinkle More than Non-Smokers

It used to be thought that smokers developed smokers lines above their lip because of the way they dragged on the cigarette but now we know that smoking causes more wrinkles because of the lack of oxygen to the skin. Carbon Monoxide is a main component of smoke (yes the same gas coming out the tailpipe of your car-the next smoker you see, just think that they are sucking on that tailpipe and sending that poisonous gas to their heart). Carbon monoxide binds to the red blood cells faster than oxygen, so the body believes it is not getting enough oxygen. It does two things. 1. It conserves oxygen and closes down the small blood vessels to non-essential organs, which is largely the skin. That is why smokers have a gray cast to their skin color and develop wrinkles and also why the color of their skin improves dramatically when they stop smoking. 2. The body adjusts to the lack of oxygen by creating more red blood cells. A simple blood test will show a high red blood cell count. This affects smokers when they quit because without the carbon monoxide to bind with the excess of red blood cells, the quitter can experience too much oxygen and have headaches, tingling in the fingers and toes from the blood vessels opening up. A tip to quitting is to go give blood when you stop. If not, the body will even itself out after a few weeks. Just another good reason to quit.

Smoking is a Class Issue

A woman called me about signing up for my smoking cessation class which is $100. For those that this would be a financial burden, I let them make payments. As this woman was sucking on her cigarette, she said, "You don't understand, I can't afford to buy milk for my children!" I thought at the time that if she hadn't bought that pack of cigarettes, she could have paid for a carton of milk.
Someone told me that with these hard economic times that smokers would quit to save money. It is the opposite, in times of stress, smokers will smoke more to relieve their stress. In one study sponsored by a tobacco company, it showed that when a smoker had to choose between cigarettes and food, they would choose the cigarettes. that certainly was true for the woman that called me.

There is an interesting commentary from England about smoking being a class issue. That when smoking was first popular that it was the rich that embraced it. As the health issues arose, the rich stopped smoking and the poor continued. There is a lot of truth to this. In the United States, most smokers are from a lower socio-economic status and 50% of current smokers in California are either a substance/alcohol abuser or have a mental illness. There is a popular myth that women find it harder to quit than men but when the research is controlled for all factors, what was discovered is that women are more likely to live at or below poverty level than men and it was these women who were more likely to smoke. So it appears that smoking is a class issue not only in the United Kingdom but in the United States as well. Unfortunately, it is the poor that also lack access to the help they desperately need to quit.

There was a Master Tobacco Settlement that was supposed to penalized the tobacco companies for lying all these years about the effects of tobacco. Each state receives money from the Master Settlement yet there are no restrictions on how this money is to be spent, often it goes into the general budget. Doesn't it make sense that at least some of this money is spent to help smokers kick nicotine out of their lives for good?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/01/civilliberties.smoking

BUTT OUT: How to help the smoker in your life quit successful

If you have never smoked you can not understand how difficult it is to quit smoking. Yet non-smokers expect smokers to quit by sheer will power alone but smoking is a chronic relapsing medical condition, it is not simply a habit or personal choice. To be successful, smokers need a combination of medical support, behavioral modification, and new coping mechanisms for stress and strong emotions. Often access to these support structures are either expensive, or non-existent. It it was easy to quit, most smokers would have done so already but only about 5% that try each year are successful. It is time to change the way we view smokers and realize that addiction to nicotine is harder to overcome than any other drug including alcohol, heroin, and cocaine. Instead of nagging the smoker in you life to quit, it's time to offer your support. I am writing a book that outlines how to help a smoker develop the desire, how to increase their belief that they can be successful, and gives practical suggestions that actually work. I've been helping smokers successful quit for 20 years. Smoking is the hardest thing that most people will ever do in their life, don't sabotage their efforts by doing the wrong thing. If you are a smoker trying to quit, give this book to your support people so they can give they kind of support that you need instead of nagging, blaming and shaming.

Tax on Cigarettes Encourages Smokers to Quit

The State of New York enacted an additional $1.25 tax on cigarettes, making the cost of a pack anywhere from $8 to $10. This increase has seen a dramatic increase in the number of smokers looking to quit smoking but finding little help. In these shaky economic times, it is important to cut back on non-essentials and it would seem like a no brainer that cigarettes should be at the top of that non-essential list but most smokers as they face economic uncertainty, will actually smoke more because of the effect that nicotine has on the brain and handling stress. The state has several programs offering free counseling and nicotine replacement products, it is important to add a stress management class to prevent relapse also. It is one thing to stop smoking and another to stay quit. Stress and the inability to handle negative emotions is often a reason for relapsing.
This is an example of Social Liberation which is:
An external force giving new alternatives to begin or continue a change, can often be seen as a problem or hindrance instead of helping. An example would be a legal ordinance restricting smoking or a new tax.

Snus-The Alternative to Quitting Smoking?

Snus is a small pouch of nicotine that is placed in the mouth between the lower jaw and cheek. The product was first introduced in Sweden and is now being imported to the United States as an alternative to smoking. It is being taunted as way to stop smoking. One tobacco company is advertising heavily to the youth market and sending out coupons for free tins of snus. Just another ploy to increase the number of nicotine addicts. The tobacco companies are in business to make money and don't really care what the health consequences are, as long as they continue making a profit. Snus is not a good alternative to smoking but just another deceptive practice that is another nicotine delivery system that is designed to addicted the user to it's product.

Smoking Dangers for Diabetics

Most smokers know that smoking can cause lung cancer but often they are not aware of all of the other health risks. Here are some problems that Kaishawn McDuffie, RN, BSN, CDE, and a certified diabetes educator has to say:

1. Smoking raises your blood sugar level, making it harder to control your diabetes.

2. Smoking increases your cholesterol levels and the levels of some other fats in your blood, raising your risk of a heart attack.

3. Smoking damages and constricts the blood vessels. This damage can worsen foot ulcers and lead to blood vessel disease and leg and foot infections.

4. Smokers with diabetes are more likely to get nerve damage and kidney disease.

5. People with diabetes who smoke are three times as likely to die of cardiovascular disease as are other people with diabetes.

To learn more about other risks listed by the American Diabetes Association, visithttp://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/smoking.jsp.

How Health Care Professionals can Help Their Patients Quit Smoking

Tobacco dependence is a chronic condition that often requires repeated intervention.

•Chronic Disorder that is vulnerable to relapse that persists for weeks, months, years.
•Requires ongoing counseling similar to diabetes, hypertension or hyperlipidemia
•Tobacco dependence treatments are both clinically effective and cost effective relative to other medical and disease prevention interventions
•It is essential that clinicians institutionalize the consistent identification, documentation, and treatment of every tobacco user seen in a health care setting.
•70% of smokers see a physician each year
•70% of smokers have indicated they would like to quit
•Physicians advice to quit is important motivator
•Use of 5 “A’s”—Ask about tobacco use, Advise to quit, Assess willingness to quit, Assist in attempt to quit, Arrange follow-up

Ask about Tobacco Use: Expand vital signs to include tobacco use status that ensures screening for every patient at every visit.
•Screening will produce four responses:
Uses Tobacco and is willing to quit
Uses Tobacco and is unwilling to quit
Once used Tobacco but has quit (Repeated screening not necessary IF several years has past)
Never used Tobacco. (Repeated screening not necessary)

Advise to quit: Advice should be Clear, Strong and Personalized

Assess willingness to quit: Ask every smoker if they are willing to quit. Every patient that uses tobacco should be offered an intervention:
•Those willing to quit:
Prescribe and monitor pharmacological therapy
Provide brief counseling
Refer for intensive counseling service to increase success
•Those unwilling to quit should be provided a brief intervention
Use of Motivational interviewing around: Relevance, risks, rewards, roadblocks, repetition
•Recent Quitters: Engage in relapse prevention interventions
Reinforce decision to quit
Review benefits
Resolve residual problems
Adjust medications as needed

*Guidelines taken from the Clinical Practice Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service

Bad Support for Quitters-What Not To Do

When Frank, a two pack a day smoker, came home from work after his first day of not smoking, his wife asked him how it went. Frank admitted he smoked one cigarette. His wife blew up at him yelling “You’re supposed to be quitting. How can you be so weak?”
Lee’s husband was always nagging her to quit. Finally he threatened to take away her new car can cancel their vacation if she didn’t stop smoking. When she succeeded for three days, he went around and told everyone how HE got her to quit. It was no surprise when she started again to spite her.
When Stephanie told her boyfriend she was going to quit smoking he just looked at her and said sarcastically, “Again, how many times does this make?”
If you’ve never smoked, you can’t begin to know how difficult it is to quit. Plain and simple…cigarette smoking is an addiction.
It’s bad enough that society is nagging smokers to quit, they don’t need to hear it from you too. In fact, there isn’t a smoker around, except for the executives at the tobacco companies, who don’t tell themselves:
• I need to quit.
• Smoking is bad for me.
• It’s bad for the people around me.
Anyone who smokes knows they need to quit. There isn’t anything you can say to a smoker about quitting that he doesn’t say to himself regularly. Confrontations, threats, put-downs or preaching are not the ways to help. What they need is plenty of support and they need it from you.
Tell you loved one that during this difficult transition, he can call on you for support at any time. Make yourself available, but let the smoker dictate if he or she wants to talk about smoking or not. It’s best just to say “How are you doing?” and let him take the lead.
The decision to quit smoking is a big one. It’s the first step to becoming a non-smoker. Because the addiction to nicotine and cigarettes is both a physiological as well as psychological it may take more than one attempt to break the dependency.
Help your loved one stay away from other smokers and cigarettes. Understand if they decline an invitation where other smokers will be. It’s worth the inconvenience and trouble to avoid a situation where it would be easy for them to “just have one.”
Encourage activities that are inconsistent with smoking, such as hiking, walking, swimming, and tennis, or go to places where smoking is not allowed, the movies, museums, church.

WHAT TO EXPECT
Please keep in mind that your loved one is going to experience both physiological withdrawal.
Physiological withdrawal requires about two weeks to run its course. Nicotine is efficiently eliminated through the kidneys so it’s a good idea for your non-smoker to drink large amounts of water and other liquids. Headaches, irritability, muscle cramps and aches, anxiety and visual and sleep disturbances are common symptoms of withdrawal. The degree to which these symptoms are experienced is highly individual. Some fortunate quitters have no symptoms while others will experience them all.
The psychological withdrawal from cigarettes is hardest during the first 2 to 3 months after quitting. Nicotine is so physically addicting that someone who gives into craving to have her just one will most likely start smoking again.

Dealing with Emotions when Quitting Smoking

Smokers reach for a cigarette for many different reasons--habit, physical craving, boredom, and strong emotions. When angry, lonely, sad, happy, afraid, a cigarette seems to help the situation. but in reality it is just blocking the emotional need. When angry, a person needs to vent in a healthy way instead of reaching for the cigarette. When celebrating a special event, often the smoker will feel deprived and feel they can't have as good a time with out their cigarettes. To be a long term success at quitting, a quitter needs strategies to deal with strong emotions when they come up--a plan of action. For anger, maybe a brisk walk to release some of that pent up anger. When lonely-reaching out to a friend for support. When we are afraid, we need to feel safe. There are gender differences as well. Women will often reach for a cigarette to deal with negative emotions and men in positive, social situations. Learning to deal with our emotional needs is a big component of living a smoke free life.

The Last Resort to Quit Smoking

Yesterday I received a phone call from a woman looking for a referral to a hypnotist to quit smoking. I told her that every method will work for some but no method works for everyone but I don't make recommendations for hypnosis. The smokers that come to my workshop all say the same thing, "I've tried everything to quit and nothing works." I get all the smokers that every method-- hypnosis, acupuncture, medications or even Peruvian amulets--don't work. My approach is that change comes from the inside out, not from an external devise. Often smokers are looking for a magic wand which is, "You do something to me so that I don't have to work at changing." Just like dieters who go on a diet, only to regain their weight when they stop the diet, to be successful, new lifestyle choices need to be incorporated into the person's life. For any change to be successful, there are several key components: desire--you have to want something more than you want the old habit, Beliefs-You have to believe that you can be successful, Fears-You need to address the fears that are holding you back from making the change you want, Education--what do you need to know to get to where you want to go?, Action--practicing new habits feels awkward at first. What pulls it all together is Commitment--Are you willing to do whatever it takes to quit? Most smokers are not willing, they want the easy way out, they are unprepared for how hard it can be to resist even one cigarette. My workshops are based around these components--building a solid foundation first of desire, and self serving beliefs, addressing fears, knowledge of self and correct action. I believe that every smoker can be successful given a personalized plan that they can follow. Tell me where you are having problems and I will address them.

Teen Smokers, part two

As a follow up to yesterday's post, here is a blog that gives some good information for parents of teen smokers.

http://opsnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/teens-tobacco.html

Teen Smokers Get Addicted Quickly

The average age that kids will light up that first cigarette is about 12 years old. It starts with experimentation but within 6 to 9 months a pattern has already developed where this child is smoking on a semi-regular basis--the first hint of addiction. Less than 24 months after that first cigarette, the teen smoker is smoking on a daily basis and is addicted. A Canadian study recently showed that most of these teen smokers do want to quit but find it too hard. The study was sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society and most teen smokers will try to quit the first time within a couple of months of the first cigarette. If they relapse though, they begin to see that quitting is harder than they had thought and if they are still smoking within two years, the cravings and withdrawal symptoms have increased that many doubt their ability to stop.
This study shows the need to take aggressive measures early on if they think their child is experimenting wtih smoking. the child is more likely to smoke if they have an older sibling who smokes or one or both parents smoke. It is never too early to talk to your child about the dangers of nicotine addiction.

It's Easy to Quit Smoking, I've Done It Hundreds of Times

Every smoker is different. I have been leading smoking cessation workshops for 20 years and some people struggle for a long time before they are successful at quitting. For others, the quitting part is easy--As Mark Twain said, "It's easy to quit smoking, I've done it hundreds of times."
I can get almost anyone to quit smoking for a period of time but there are two parts--Stop Smoking-AND-Stay Quit--it's the second part that usually grabs smokers. They under estimate how powerful nicotine is, if they slip and have a few cigarettes, even if it is several years down the road, thinking that they can control their smoking. Nicotine creates more receptors in the brain and when you quit, they go dormant but with the reintroduction of nicotine--they wake and shout--"Don't tease me with one cigarette-I want the whole pack." It takes about 6 months, the first time someone becomes addicted to nicotine but it can take only one day--the second time because the changes in the brain structure are still there. So most quitters are successful for a period of time and relapse and don't give themselves credit for the period of time that they did stop smoking. I hope you are one of the few that doesn't relapse but unfortunately over 90% of quitters will start again within a year. Just like an alcoholic can never have another drink, a smoker can never have another cigarette. That thought is often very scary, so don't think about the future but live in the moment--that is all that we can control--change your thinking to---I'm not smoking for right now. One man told me that he just told himself that when he retired, he could start smoking again, but he was scared because he was approaching retirement age and was worried that he had told himself that too much. To quit for good, we need to change our behavior and we need to change the way we think about smoking.

How Kid Nicotine Deceives Teenagers

Most smokers start as teenagers or younger and they ALWAYS think that they won't become addicted or that they will stop before they have any harmful effects from smoking but this is just another way that Kid Nicotine worms it's way into a person's life. The child starts by experimenting with one cigarette here and there but soon a pattern develops--maybe one every day after school, or one every Saturday, regardless as soon as ANY pattern shows up, that person is already showing signs of brain changes caused by the use of nicotine. The younger the person starts smoking the more likely they are to become addicted because their brain is still developing and Kid Nicotine changes that growing brain into one that NEEDS nicotine. Our brains don't fully develop until we are in our 20's (for women, about 20-21, for men 24-25). These brain changes can occur within a few months of experimenting with that first cigarette.

Smoking Kills More Alcoholics than Alcohol

Addicts will argue that you don't get arrested for smoking as they do for drinking and drugging but it's the smoking that is going to kill them. Nicotine is usually the first addictive substance an addict will use and it is usually the last one that they give up or dying trying.
It time to realize what smoking is---the most harmful addiction, worse for the health of an individual than any other substance. Substance abuse centers will have an addict stop all addictive substances even caffeine but will let smokers continue to indulge in their nicotine addiction. Smoking kills more alcohols and drug addicts than their primary drug of choice. It's time to make health insurance companies pay for cessation programs and medications, just like they do for other addictive substances.

High Taxes for Cigarettes but Will This Help People Quit Smoking?

Some states have recently passed additional taxes for cigarettes. In this economy, states need the money but some of the additional tax on cigarettes should go to pay for smoking cessation programs. But for most people it is a non-issue. Non-smokers say that they don't understand why smokers smoke and why don't they just put that cigarette down and walk away. Many smokers shout about --"It's their RIGHT to smoke" and yet up to 70% of smokers do want to quit but it is a very hard addiction to overcome and there are not adequate resources to combat this deadly addiction. Insurance companies pay up to 28 days for alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs yet tobacco will kill more Americans than alcohol, cocaine, heroin, homicide, fires and AIDS COMBINED--it is the single most deadly substance that kills 50% of those who use it as directed. I urge everyone to write their politicians and urge them to use some of these additional monies for cessation programs and also demand that insurance companies give back and provide coverage for smokers who are desperately trying to quit but the resources just aren't available. The medications that improve the chance of quitting are very expensive and should be covered. Helping people quit smoking helps the health care bottom line for everyone. The damage from smoking DOES affect everyone because of the increased health care cost, and the loss of productivity. It's time to see tobacco as the major problem that is really is.

Quit Smoking to Improve Staying Sober

Here is a very interesting article that encourages alcoholics to stop smoking at the same time they quit drinking. Many drinkers use the excuse that they can't quit smoking at the same time, and many treatment facilities take the addict off of all addictive substances including caffeine EXCEPT for nicotine. It is about time that we started treating nicotine as the addictive substance it is:


Source: Harvard Health Publications

"People who are dependent on alcohol are also likely to smoke cigarettes. Many experts believe that it’s important to counsel alcohol-dependent individuals to give up smoking as well as drinking—not just to improve their health, but also to increase their chances of staying sober, reports a recent issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

It is a common worry that trying to quit smoking and drinking at the same time will undermine treatment for alcohol dependence. However, most studies have reported that efforts to quit smoking either have no impact on maintaining sobriety or actually increase success of alcohol treatment.

There are no smoking cessation guidelines specifically for alcohol-dependent adults. For now, the best option is to follow the federal guidelines for treating tobacco dependence, which recommend a combination of counseling and medication.

A major and still unresolved question is whether it’s better to give up smoking and drinking together, or whether it’s better to tackle one addiction at a time. Researchers have found that when smoking cessation support was delayed by six months, study participants were more likely to remain sober compared with those who received concurrent treatment for both addictions. But a follow-up analysis found that this may have been true only for white people in the study.

Michael C. Miller, MD, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter , notes that no single approach is best for every person struggling with both alcohol and nicotine addiction. Whether an individual quits smoking during alcohol treatment or later, it's a net health gain."

—

Effects of Secondhand Smoke

My father passed away from bladder cancer caused by secondhand smoke. Each year over 53,000 die from exposure to secondhand smoke. 3000 are diagnosed with lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke and 50,000 from heart disease. The carbon monoxide in smoke is deadly to someone prone to heart disease.
The components of the sidestream smoke coming off the tip of the cigarette are formed at a lower temperature, since oxygen is not being pulled through it, so more cancer causing substances are created at this lower temperature. The smoke is also not being filtered by either the cigarettes filter, nor the smokers body. Compare the color of the smoke coming out a smokers mouth and the color of the smoke coming off the tip of the cigarette--you can see the difference. White vs blue. The real problem is the side stream smoke which the smoker is exposed to and everyone around them. So even if you don't smoke, don't let anyone smoke around you. Encourage your city to go smoke free in public places to protect the rights of non-smokers to breathe clean, smoke free air.

Optimistic Bias towards Quitting Smoking

Often non-smokers will say to a smoker,
"Don't you know that smoking causes lung cancer?" (Or one of the other horrible diseases that smoking is link to).
Oh course the smoker knows this information but unfortunately, information alone is insufficient to change behavior. Too many smokers have an optimistic bias that they will be one of the ones to escape damage from smoking or that they will quit before any damage is done. The first step to quitting is to build desire and that stems from a conflict in values that the smoker deems important. One of the worst things that happens is when the smoker visits his or her doctor and the doctor says,
"You're lungs sound fine." What the smoker hears is that their smoking has done no damage. Instead of loading the smoker up with "information", listen to what is really important in their life and see if it is in conflict with smoking. Yesterday, a client, Steve, was talking to me about his friend, Eric, who smokes. Steven had quit smoking years ago and asked Eric if he had a death wish by continuing to smoke. I told Steve that was his reason for quitting but it might not be a good reason for Eric. Eric teaches music at a local organization. I told Steve that what might work better is to ask Eric what kind of role model he is providing to his students if they knew he was smoking. Eric values his relationship with his students and that might be more motivating that focusing on the health effects. To build desire, focus on what is important to the smoker instead of just giving them information.

Does Hypnosis Work to Stop Smoking?

It is hard to do valid studies with hypnosis and so it has not been considered a reliable way to stop smoking even though there are many advocates. In my smoking cessation workshops, I get all of the smokers that it did NOT work for, in fact, often I heard that I am the smokers last resort--they have tried everything and nothing works. The University of California in San Francisco recently published a study that showed hypnosis was about the same as behavior counseling classes. But the quit rate was still low with only 22% being still quit at one year. It goes along with what I preach--Every method will work for some, no method works for everyone. Keep trying to find what method will work for you and eventually you will be successful. I wouldn't spend a lot of money for hypnosis but if you can find an inexpensive practitioner with a money back guarantee, you might be one of the lucky ones that it helps to quit.


http://pub.ucsf.edu/today/cache/feature/200806201.html

Dealing with Habit Cigarettes

Smokers are connected to their cigarettes in many different ways, one is through habits. Just like the scientist Pavlov taught dogs to salivate by ringing a bell, a smoker becomes conditioned to smoke by external events such as drinking coffee, driving in a car, answering the phone. Nicotine acts on the brain to heighten these associations. So to be successful, the quitter needs to have different tools to deal with different situations. What works for one habit may not work for another.

• Telephone: only answer the phone in rooms where you do not normally smoke such as the bedroom, have a piece of paper and pen handy to doodle, don't answer the phone when you are feeling particularly weak.
• After meals: have a breathe mint, go brush your teeth, take a walk,
• With coffee: sit in a different chair, drink tea instead or a different flavor of coffee, change your morning routine--having coffee after you read the paper instead of while you read.
• Driving: have unsalted sunflower seeds available and eat them one at a time (mimics the hand to mouth motion, smoke a "fake" cigarette--often the unconscious mind doens't know the difference since we are not consciously aware of each cigarette we smoke.

The trick is to have a variety of tools to deal with each craving as it comes up. The good news is that habit cigarettes fall away very quickly since you get to practice them each day. If you're not ready to quit just yet, why not start changing your habit cigarettes, one at a time, so that when you are ready to quit, you have already dealt with that aspect. Habits cigarettes can be associated with people, places, times, situations, and emotions.

How theTobacco Companies are Targeting Young Men to Start Smoking

Men's Health has an excellent article of how the Tobacco Companies are targeting young men and why their marketing is working. It also explains what nicotine does to the brain which makes it much more difficult to stop smoking.


http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=health&category=other.diseases.ailments&conitem=1f662c4d88ee9110VgnVCM10000013281eac

Pregnancy and Smoking

I saw a news report once that showed a woman having an ultrasound. You could see the baby's heart beating and the lungs expanding. Then the women smoked a cigarette and the heart of the baby stopped beating and the lungs stopped moving. I can't imagine any woman who would see what she is doing to her child--that she would continue smoking but that just shows you how powerful the addiction to nicotine really is.
Pregnant women who spontaneous quit, also need to be aware that they are at high risk for relapsing once they deliver, yet is is also important to not smoke around the newborn as secondhand and third hand (components of smoke lingering on clothes, ete) will affect the newborn.
there is an excellent article about pregnancy and smoking:
http://www.therightpills.com/pregnancy-childbirth/pregnancy-to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke/

How Nicotine is a Different Kind of Addiction

We need to find a different way of describing how individuals are attached to nicotine besides addiction, which implies the heavy withdrawals like from heroin, crack and alcohol--which hospitalization may be required. However, nicotine does change the structure of the brain--which is why it can be easy for some smokers to quit but hard to stay quit since most will relapse within a year. The nicotine is out of the body in a few days but the brain has memories attached to external events--habits, nicotine goes with coffee, talking on the phone ete..These habit cigarettes go away very quickly too. However, it can be years later when a nicotine memory is triggered in the former smokers brain and should the quitter decides to have "just one", they may find that just like potato chips, they can't stop at just one. the Nicotine locks into receptors in the brain and starts creating more of these receptors, which do dormant when quitting but can wake up with the reintroduce of nicotine---The brain is screaming--Don't tease me with one cigarette, I want the whole pack. The brain has the memory of being flooded with dopamine when Kid Nicotine locks into those receptors. So there are two parts--Stop Smoking AND Stay Quit to be successful. Understanding what nicotine does to the brain can help when Kid Nicotine comes knocking on your door out of the blue just when you think you've got kid nicotine beat.

The 5 "D's" to Help Stop Smoking

Drink water or fruit juice to help flush the nicotine out of your system.

Deep Breathe from your abdomen. Avoid shallow breathing. Lie on the floor with a piece of paper on your navel, trying to lift the paper by using your breath. Breathe deeply through your nose, exhaling through your mouth.

Do something else. Get your mind off the cigarette. Keep your hands busy. Engage in substitute activities.
~ Play a musical instrument
~ Play computer games, game boy
~ Doodle or sketch
~ Read a book or magazine
~ Start a new hobby
~ Do a crossword puzzle
~ Knit, crochet, needlepoint
~ Do house or yard work
~ Clean out the closets
~ Give yourself a manicure or pedicure
~ Shampoo the dog
~ Chew on a straw, cinnamon stick, toothpick, clove, gum
~ Brush your teeth
~ Take a shower or slash cold water on your face.
~ Balance your checkbook
~ Surf the Internet
~ Try eating unshelled, unsalted sunflower seeds. Eat one at a time
~ Exercise
~ Go for a brisk walk. If you cannot walk outside, walk the interior of a mall.
~ Ride a bike
~ Go for a swim
~ Lift weights
~ Climb a flight of stairs instead of using the elevator
~ Stretch, touch your toes, do jumping jacks
~ Park a block or two away from your destination and walk

Delay ~ Wait it out, a craving will often fade and disappear in a few minutes
~ Count to 300
~ Say to yourself, “I'll think of cigarettes in 5 minutes”, then go do something else
~ Talk yourself out of it, tell yourself “This craving isn’t going to last, it is only temporary”.
~ Remember the craving will go away whether or not you smoke.

Discuss with a friend ~ Call a non-smoking support person
~ Go to a nicotine anonymous meeting
~ Your best support may be someone that has kept you at a distance because you smoke, seek
out others who are going through the quitting process now, or have successful quit in the past
~ Avoid people who will tempt you to return to smoking

Smoking: A Major Cause of Impotency

Here is a well researched article about the connection between of smoking and impotence--another good reason to quit.

http://aledbul.blogspot.com/2008/07/tobacco-education-emphasizing-impotence.html

Smokers Fool Themselves into Thinking that Smoking isn't Harmful

Most smokers have an optimist bias that even if they acknowledge the harmful effects from smoking--It's not going to happen to them. They go to their doctor and he listens to the smokers lungs and says, "Your lungs sound fine." What the smoker hears is that he can smoke with immunity, no harm has been done. But no one who smokes is healthy, listening to the lungs through a stethoscope may detect pneumonia but is worthless when looking for lung cancer. The one number one killer is heart disease and The death of Tim Russert shows that heart disease can be difficult to detect. Gaining freedom from Kid Nicotine is the best advice before he blindsides the smoker and knocks him out.

Genes may Influence Quitting

Here is an interesting article in the Washington Post that states in a recent research project, different genes were identified that may make it easier to decide to use Nicotine Replacement Products or Zyban or Chantix. It seems different gene pattern respond differently. The take away message is that if you tried one product and you weren't able to quit, Blame it on your genes and try, try again. There is no failure to quit until you stop trying. If one method doesn't work, try something else until you find the right combination of medication, behavioral modification and support for you to be successful.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/03/AR2008060302759.html