The Tools to Quit

Get the Help You Need to Stop Smoking

Going smoke-free is one resolution that is easy to make but, for many, difficult to keep. In fact, quitting smoking often takes multiple attempts. According to a 2008 Gallup® Poll, approximately 70 percent of all smokers wish to quit, but only three percent succeed each year.

If you or a loved one is a habitual quitter, take a look at this Q&A with UVA clinical pharmacist and certified diabetes educator Donna White. Knowing the facts about how smoking is affecting your body may help you kick the habit. Then read on for tips to help you quit or to help a loved one finally go smoke-free once and for all.

What effect does smoking have on your heart?

Smoking damages blood vessels throughout the entire body.  Inflammation and dysfunction in the vessels as well as cell damage occur immediately, making blood clots more likely. Smoking also causes dangerous plaque buildup in the vessels. Both can lead to heart attack and stroke.

Do you have to be a heavy smoker to experience these effects?

No. Each and every puff – or even secondhand exposure – poses potential damage to lungs and other organs in the body. That’s because more than 7,000 toxins, along with the nicotine, travel in the blood to all organs as soon as you inhale. There simply is no safe exposure to tobacco smoke.

What additional health problems are caused by smoking?

Tobacco use is the single leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., accounting for one in five deaths each year.

Smoking causes approximately 85 percent of all lung cancers in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. It is also a cause for a host of other cancers including stomach, pancreas, kidney, cervical, bladder, esophageal and acute myeloid leukemia. Smoking can also damage the delicate lining in the lungs and lead to emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The chronic inflammation and insulin resistance that result from smoking make diabetes more difficult to control and add to the already increased risk of kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, as well as heart disease. Smokers with diabetes have a two- to three-time higher risk of kidney damage than non-smoking diabetics.

A woman’s ability to become pregnant and the health of a man’s sperm may both be compromised due to smoking. In addition, health complications such as low birth weight or still birth occur at a higher rate in smokers, as does sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Is it possible to reverse the effects of smoking if you quit? 

Stopping smoking or tobacco use at any time and at any age is beneficial. Within just a few months, circulation will improve and lung function will increase up to 30 percent. After just one year, the risk for heart attack drops significantly. And at five years, the risk of stroke becomes the same as a non-smoker, as does the risk of mouth, esophagus, throat and bladder cancer. At the 10-year mark, the risk of dying from lung cancer is similar to that of a non-smoker.

What are some of the options now available to those who are trying to quit?

Currently there are many forms of nicotine replacement therapies. Patches, gum, lozenges and inhalers and oral medications help with the actual craving mechanisms in the brain.

Have any of these methods proven to be more effective than others?

Counseling, in combination with nicotine replacement and/or medication to help dull craving centers in the brain, works best. Tobacco dependency is multi-faceted, encompassing physical addiction to nicotine and the behavioral and psychological aspects of tobacco use. All need to be addressed.

Tips for those trying to quit

• Set a quit date.
• Identify reasons for quitting. Post these reasons where you can see them.
• Save the money you would be spending on cigarettes and treat yourself, maybe to a movie or a massage.
• Remove all tobacco and tobacco reminders from your home: cigarettes, matches, ash trays. (Ask those in your home to only smoke outside.)
• Find something to do with your hands (crossword puzzles, knit, crochet, play games).
• Use flavored toothpicks, sugar-free gum or candy, or straws if you need to put something in your mouth.
• If you feel tired or down, drink cold water, splash water in your face or go for a walk to gain some energy.
• If you are upset, take a warm bath or shower, read or go for a walk to calm down.
• Identify triggers and time of day that you are most likely to smoke, then change your habits.
• Anticipate challenges and plan for these challenges.
• Discuss your urge with a friend, family member, or get assistance from trained specialists at programs like the American Cancer Society’s Quit for Life® Program. Call 866.QUIT.4.Life (866.784.8454) or visit quitnow.net.

Tips for those supporting someone who is trying to quit

• Be supportive and empathetic.
• Avoid arguing with or lecturing the person trying to quit.
• When spending time with the person who is trying to quit, avoid areas where there will be smoking (restaurants, etc.), especially in the early stages of a cessation attempt.
• Phone or visit often and offer words of encouragement.