So, you think it’s impossible to quit
smoking because you’ve been doing it for the past twenty something years? Well,
no doubt, you are right in thinking that it will be difficult. But it is not
impossible! Cigarette smoking is highly addictive, and one of the first things
you need to get through is the withdrawal from nicotine. Then comes the part
where you need to change your behavior and sever the associations you have made
between cigarettes and certain things you do each day. The next phase is maintenance.
Ready to start the process? First, let’s talk about the negative aspects of
smoking and why it’s important to seriously consider quitting.
Well, it starts slow, perhaps with some event - you get a really bad cough or
cold and you can’t smoke for a few days; you visit a friend in the hospital
who has just had a heart attack or found out that he/she has lung cancer; you
have a milestone birthday; you read an article in a magazine that moves you;
a loved one keeps asking you to quit, or your children tell you how bad you
smell. One (or more) of these reasons get you to start thinking about what it
would be like to quit smoking and all the good reasons to do so. This phase
is very different for people; some people are able to make up their minds relatively
quickly, but others take months or years to come to the conclusion that they
are going to quit.
Let’s face it, no one really “wants” to quit smoking. Smokers smoke because
they find it comforting and like an old friend, and many simply cannot imagine
life without cigarettes. When you are in this stage of the quitting process,
it’s a great idea to start reading as much as you possibly can about why smoking
is harmful for your health and what you can do to quit. The more information
you have about it and the more you are keeping the idea in your consciousness,
the more feasible it will be. You might consider contacting the American Lung
Association or the American Cancer Society. Some chapters have groups to help
people quit smoking.
To help you with the part about “an article you read in a magazine”, I will
furnish you with some of the information about why smoking is so bad for you.
Let’s start with the outside. Cigarettes discolor your fingers and teeth. They
cause your skin to lose its elasticity and it gets wrinkled (ever notice how
much older a heavy smoker looks than other people his/her age?). Smokers don’t
smell very good to other people, either. Even smokers will sometimes tell me
that they are aware of how unpleasant smelling smoke on someone else is. Smokers
often have evidence of cigarette burns in their clothing and/or furniture. The
huge risk of starting a fire by falling asleep while smoking is another good
reason to quit.
Regarding internal damage, most people already know that smoking causes lung
cancer. Often, though, the risk to one’s heart is overlooked and cigarette smoking/tobacco
addiction is most definitely one of the culprits that contributes to high blood
pressure, heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular disease (when the blood
vessels in the farthest reaches of the body, like the legs and feet, get damaged
and oxygen doesn’t get to all the tissues the way it should causing pain, death
of tissue and possibly the need for amputation).
In women, smoking can also contribute to cervical cancer and ectopic pregnancy
(the fallopian tubes that carry the egg don’t push the fertilized egg into the
womb like they ought to and the baby develops in the tube - this is an emergency
when the tube ruptures). During pregnancy, smoking causes low birth weight and
may contribute to abruptio placenta - a condition where the placenta, the organ
that nourishes the baby, suddenly separates from the wall of the womb and the
baby then can’t get enough oxygen. Women who take birth control pills and smoke
are at a much higher risk of developing blood clots that, if broken free from
the blood vessel wall, can cause stroke, heart attack or lung damage.
Both men and women are at risk for developing emphysema, a slow, miserable deterioration
of lung function which leaves one dependent on medication and oxygen and gasping
for every breath. Smoking mixed with alcohol intake increases your risk for
head and neck cancers. Bladder cancer is associated with smoking in both men
and women. Nicotine decreases the protection that Vitamin C offers from infection,
so smokers are more likely to get sick than nonsmokers. Chewing tobacco doesn’t
improve your odds, either, as many people think. People who chew may end up
with cancers of the mouth and throat as well.
What about the people who don’t even smoke but live with someone who does? We
know that children exposed to second hand smoke are more likely to have ear
infections and asthma. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all the
awful things that can happen to smokers. Look up smoking through any search
engine online and there is tons of information on the risks associated with
it. Heard enough bad news? There is still so much to tell - that’s how terrible
smoking is for you! But you already knew all that, right?
So, now that we have established that there is nothing good to be said about
smoking, why is it so hard to give it up? There are a number of reasons. First
of all, the substances in cigarette smoke are addictive. Addiction refers to
a physical and/or psychological craving for a particular substance, in this
case, nicotine. Not so different from what you know about alcoholism or drug
addiction, right?
There is also a behavioral side to cigarette smoking. It has become habitual
in your life. Certain activities just seem to go hand in hand with smoking.
For example, what’s the first thing you do in the morning? Many of you will
answer, “Light a cigarette.” What’s the best part of the meal? Lighting the
cigarette afterward, right? Who can talk on the phone without a cigarette in
their hand? What point is there in drinking coffee or a beer without a cigarette?
And so forth, and so on. Get the idea? There are many links we make between
certain behaviors and smoking which make it a very hard habit to break. Following
are a few ideas for helping you to quit.
1) As you become more convinced that you are ready to make the move to quit,
pick a start date. Think of it as the first day of the rest of your life - as
a nonsmoker. Tell everyone you know that you are quitting (you might feel obliged
to stick to your word).
2) Begin to imagine yourself as a nonsmoker. If you cannot even imagine it,
it will be very hard to accomplish. But being able to see yourself in a different
way will increase your capacity to stick with your new found freedom from cigarettes.
3) Calculate how much money you will save by not smoking (the number might stagger
you) and decide how you will spend that money. You could reward yourself with
something you’ve been wanting (some more chrome for your truck, perhaps), maybe
take a little vacation, add the money to your “spending” fund, start saving
it, or maybe pay extra toward a bill (or be glad that you can pay the bill at
all for once without going hungry). Find something that motivates you to continue
to make the decision to not smoke.
4) Speak with your health care provider about some help if you think quitting
is something you just can’t do alone. There are patches, which you can buy over
the counter, and there are other medicines that you can get with a prescription
that help to take the edge off. You will need to go through withdrawal, that
phase in which your body gets rid of the toxic substance, nicotine. During withdrawal,
people’s symptoms vary; some feel little or no discomfort. Others feel shaky
and extremely irritable and feel at the end of their rope. So, of course, it’s
easy at this point to throw in the towel and say, “I just can’t do it.” Taking
a medicine (there is one called Zyban) that calms many of those symptoms may
help you stay on track.
5) As part of the detoxification process, it’s a great idea to drink lots of
water and juice. These will help in two ways: one is that you are washing the
impurities through your system faster. The second is that it will keep your
hands and mouth busy. After all, you are used to always having a cigarette in
your hand, raising it to your mouth. I always suggest to my patients that they
buy one of those large bottles with the straw in it. Fill it up with some wonderful
ice cold water (you may want to vary the routine by adding lemon or lime from
time to time) and keep it with you at all times. It will wash you out and provide
you with the oral gratification you have had with cigarettes.
6) When cravings come, be very conscious of working through them. Take deep
breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. The craving will pass
in a matter of minutes. Reward yourself with something that isn’t a cigarette.
Many people fear that they will gain weight when they quit smoking, but I would
ask do you really believe that continuing to smoke is healthier than gaining
a few pounds? The average weight again is about 7 pounds, weight which will
be easy to lose now that you can actually breathe while exercising!
7) Be prepared to develop a cough! This is very important information so that
you don’t get discouraged. Some people use this as an excuse to return to smoking
saying, “I never had a cough when I was smoking. Why did I get one now? And
if I’m going to have one (a cough), why bother quitting?” The reason you develop
a cough is that the cilia, the little hairs that sweep dirt and debris out of
your lungs, have been paralyzed by cigarette smoke. Now, suddenly, they are
coming back to life! With their rediscovered movement comes the cough, but you’ll
get over it as there is less and less dirt and debris in your lungs.
8) Remember to take it one day (one second, one minute, one hour...) at a time.
You don’t have to worry about getting through this for the rest of your life,
just for this moment. One moment becomes two, then three, then... well, you
get the picture. Of course, the idea is that you remain smoke free for the rest
of your life, but for most people, that is simply too big a piece to bite off
at the beginning. One day will become two without smoking, then three, and so
on. You will be so proud of yourself as you tally the amount of time you are
managing to remain smoke free that you won’t want to have a cigarette and have
to go back and restart the count again.
9) There will probably come a time after you have not been smoking for a while
when you develop a smug attitude about how easy it was to do and how you could
have JUST ONE. Anyone who has quit smoking more than once will tell you that
this is the point where they discovered that you really cannot ever have another
cigarette if you want to stay smoke free. But there is good news - you don’t
need cigarettes to live, unlike other things like food.
10) Many people fear that they will feel lonely without their cigarettes, like
they have just lost their best friend. After all, wouldn’t you run out in the
middle of the night for a good friend? But, what most people discover once they
have quit is that instead of feeling lonely and longing for their cigarettes
they feel liberated and alive for the first time in years.
Nurse Norma
If you need help, get it. Find as much
support as you can because it can be tough to quit on your own. If you are a
smoker reading this and these words seem to be really hitting home, let this
article be one of the factors that get you started on the road to quitting for
good. I would love to hear from any of you that have been moved to make a great
decision. Ready? Set. Go! Your lungs, heart and family will thank you for quitting!
Good luck and happy breathing. I can reached through 10-4 by calling 1-888-440-4104
or by e-mail at 10-4@tenfourmagazine.com.
~Norma Stephens Hannigan is a Family Nurse Practitioner with many years of experience
treating truckers. She writes from her home in Laredo, Texas.
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