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When Being a quitter can save your lifePatricia Carroll, RN,BC, CEN, RRT, MS
Ways You Can Quit Smoking ― For Life! To watch this interview click here
Not only am I a registered nurse, I am proud
that I began my career as a
registered
If you need to learn what smoking is doing to your body, visit the American Cancer Society. The number of people who die from smoking-related illness every year is the equivalent of two jumbo jets colliding every day for a year -- with no survivors!
It's never too late to quit; I am so proud of my
mother who quit a few years after she passed her
70th birthday. If you’ve made the decision to
stop smoking, or you’re even thinking about
kicking the habit, congratulations! Now that
nicotine replacement therapy is available
over-the-counter and in different forms, you can
wean yourself off that drug. But that's only
part of the process...
Keys to Success: Body, Habit, and Mind Successful quitters handle three things at
the same time: A cigarette goes with a beer at a party, or a
cup of coffee after dinner. It’s an eye-opener
in the morning, and many people use it as a
little reward after accomplishing various tasks
during the day. Others grab a smoke when they
are nervous, worried, or anxious. To help you
deal with the habit and mind aspects,
GlaxoSmithKline has a customized The American Lung Association's program is called Freedom From Smoking®. You can participate online, or call your local chapter (1-800-LUNG-USA) for information about programs in your community. Many local chapters subsidize the cost for people who join the program. Many states’ Medicaid programs will cover the cost of nicotine replacement and smoking cessation programs, and more and more employers offer these programs at no cost.If nicotine replacement therapy is combined with a program of some sort to help you overcome your habit, the average success rate doubles. Choose the Nicotine Replacement That's Right For You There are many forms of nicotine replacement so you can choose the one you’re most comfortable with. Patch. This f It's a sticky square you put on your skin. You put it on in the morning, and it releases nicotine gradually during the day. You can choose either a 16-hour or 24-hour patch; some people have trouble sleeping if they leave the patch on, but others find wearing the patch through the night helps offset that morning craving. You can experiment and see what works best for you. Gum. This type of nicotine replacement
may work best for you if you don't smoke
regularly; for example, you may smoke more in
the evening when you're home because you cannot
smoke during the day at work. It's also a good
choice for people who want to control how much Using gum is more like smoking – you take a piece of gum and put it in your mouth at the times you would have lit up a cigarette. You don't chew it like regular gum, though, and this is very important. You bite into the gum and chew it slowly until you notice a tingle or a peppery taste. That's your signal nicotine is beginning to be released. Then "park" it between your cheek and gum so the nicotine is absorbed through the lining of your mouth. When the tingle fades, repeat the cycle and park it in a different place in your mouth. You spend more time holding this gum in your mouth than chewing it.
Depending on how many cigarettes you smoke in a day, you may use the gum on a schedule, such as one piece every hour, or you may use it when you would grab your pack of cigarettes. Do not use more than 24 pieces a day. You can taper your nicotine use by alternating a square of nicotine gum with a square of sugar-free gum. Lozenge. This is the newest over-the-counter nicotine replacement form, and is designed for heavily addicted smokers who have a cigarette within 30 minutes of waking up every morning, if you're tried to quit before without success or if you simply prefer a lozenge that will dissolve in your mouth. To use the lozenge, 15 minutes after eating or drinking, put the lozenge in your mouth and allow it to slowly dissolve. Do not chew or swallow the lozenge and try not to swallow regularly when it is in your mouth -- it is best absorbed through the mucous membranes in your mouth. Move the lozenge from side to side periodically until it is dissolved. Getting Started Check out the Committed Quitters web site to learn more about the whole process of kicking cigarettes for life. Make a list of the reasons you want to quit, how your life will be better as a non-smoker and how you'll handle the rough spots. Think about the form of nicotine replacement you think will work best for you, and learn how to choose the proper starting dose. If at first you don't succeed and you fall off the quitting wagon, join the club. On average, it takes about 8 tries to permanently stop  smoking ("a try" includes
people who have quit for one day or more). But,
every time you slip in your effort, you can
learn. Once you understand why you went back to
a cigarette -- whether it was lack of support of
people around you, being around smokers and
cigarette smoke, severe cravings, or because you
felt stress and needed a cigarette to cope --
you can take steps to travel more smoothly over
those bumps in your road the next time. Make a
list of the barriers you faced, and use the
resources
listed
below and the support systems in your community
such as local smoking cessation programs to help
you through the rough spots. Each day you don't
smoke is a day closer to being a non-smoker for
the rest of your life.
Critical Information To use nicotine replacement safely to kick the habit, follow these rules:
Need More Motivation?
Do it for your health and for the people you love. National Library of Medicine: Interactive Learning About Smoking This is a terrific slide show with narration that teaches about the health effects of smoking. For a simple text version of the same information, click hereMedline Plus Health Information This site, compiled by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health provides nearly 200 links to information about smoking, secondhand smoke, smoking cessation, smoking and youth, and smokeless tobacco. National Cancer Institute: Questions and Answers About Smoking Cessation From this home page, type the word "smoking" in the search box for a rich resource of materials on topics such as cigar smoking, smokeless tobacco, "light" cigarettes, and smoking prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS Program) This program from the CDC provides a wealth of information including statistics on smoking and health, and a link to the historic document describing the dangers of smoking from the Surgeon General in 1964. 
he
American Heart Association: Smoking and Your
Heart
This section of the AHA site provides information for consumers and the scientific statements written for health professionals. A great collection of links to AHA information on smoking is at the bottom of this page. The American Lung Association: Tobacco Control The ALA provides information about smoking cessation, the effects of smoke on youth and women, and a regularly updated news headline ticker to keep you up-to-date on smoking in the news. And if you want to share telephone numbers instead: American Cancer Society Atlanta, GA 800-ACS-2345 (800-227-2345)
American Heart Association Dallas, TX 800-AHA-USA1 (800-242-8721)
American Lung Association New York, NY 800-LUNG-USA (800-586-4872)
National Cancer Institute Bethesda, MD 800-4-CANCER (800-422-6237)
Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA 770-488-5705
Written: November 2003
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of nicotine replacement may be best if you smoke
regularly, such as every 30 minutes; if you want
the convenience of a once-a-day form of nicotine
replacement; and if you prefer not to chew gum
or cannot chew gum because of dental work.
nicotine they use and when they use it, and if
you need something in your mouth to replace the
cigarette. 
If
you quit smoking in December, and put the same
amount of money you would spend on cigarettes in
your piggy bank, and you paid an average of
$4.25 per pack