Quitting smoking

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte, Contributor

11/16/2007

Cigarette smoking is often an addictive habit. Because of this, you need to consult a doctor. Going cold turkey, while commendable, happens in very rare cases.

In the Philippines, smoking so far is the commonest health risk factor with a prevalence of 12.1 percent among women and 56.3 percent among men, according to the National Nutrition and Health Survey by the Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine’s May-June 2005 issue. The journal revealed that smoking kills nearly five million people worldwide each year. Twenty thousand Filipinos die every year due to tobacco-related diseases. Smoking accounts for more than 85 percent of lung cancer deaths. Moreover, smokers are more likely to develop emphysema compared to non-smokers.

Globally, in the year 2003 alone, of the total estimated number of deaths due to smoking, 56 percent is coronary-related and 57 percent stroke and cardiovascular related, as reported in the 2004 Lancet Journal’s Interheart Study Investigators.

Yet, unknown to many, smoking is the single most preventable health risk of all. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is one form of treatment. One of the oldest existing therapy to quit smoking, this option comes in six formulations: gum, patch, oral inhaler, nasal spray,

sublingual tablet and lozenge. NRT provides the nicotine obtained from cigarettes but without exposure to their carcinogens and other toxic substances. By helping to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, NRT may also allow smokers to function while they learn to live without cigarettes. Your doctor can advise you of other options available.

Yolly Sirilan, a free-lance marketing consultant and mother of two, have been smoking for over 40 years now. Quite a long time, one may say. She attempted to stop several times but confesses it’s quite difficult especially at the onset.

“Once, I had laryngitis, and my doctor advised that I quit for a week, which I did

right away. I even underwent eight sessions of detox process through acupuncture together with a diet every year after that. During detox, they pricked needles on areas where they found cigarette pait so I threw them away. After that, I went back to smoking again,” she related.

Nicotine addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition. Although some individuals quit successfully after their first attempt, most continue to smoke cigarettes for many

years, trying repeatedly to stop but typically suffering a relapse after a short time.

Steve Teves, a registered nurse and clinical instructor for a university nursing school, says he has been under the habit for twenty years now.

“Yes, I’ve been trying to stop for over a year but came back to the vice when I got so stressed up with the demands of my job,” he said.

Princess Tagle, a lawyer with the government’s labor arbitration agency NLRC, realized he had been hooked for almost twenty years now. “I made a lot of attempts to quit in the past, and I think it’s high time that I give it a serious effort. The funny thing is I hid

this from most people. Some of those close to me don’t even know of my secret vice,” she said.

Withdrawal symptoms can impair other functioning. Like other chronic disorders, smoking should be addressed through counseling, behavioral support and appropriate drug therapy. In addition to overcoming craving and withdrawal symptoms, smokers must also overcome another barrier to a successful quitting attempt—the environmental stimuli that are associated with smoking. As an adage aptly puts it, “Misery loves company.”

There is a new treatment option that is available for smoking cessation. Learn about this from your doctor today. You’ll be amazed at how science has addressed this predicament.

Smoking cessation has also been shown to reduce the risk of cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, esophagus, pancreas and urinary bladder.

A health journal describes nicotine addiction as thus: “Nicotine is rapidly absorbed during cigarette smoking and produces its physiological and behavioral effects by binding to nicotinic acetycholine receptors in the brain. Nicotine binding leads to neuronal depolarization, with subsequent generation of nerve impulses that release dopamine in the nucleus accumbens—the brain’s reward center. Dopamine produces a sensation of pleasure and perceived calm.

“The half-life of nicotine is only about two hours, so between cigarettes, dopamine levels in the reward center gradually decline, prompting symptoms of withdrawal, such as irritability, restlessness, feeling miserable and difficulty concentrating. By providing nicotine, the next cigarette relieves these symptoms and again gives rise to pleasure and calm. This vicious cycle continues as each cigarette rewards smoking behavior.”

With medical intervention, the desire of smokers to quit can be finally actualized. After all, quitting smoking is the most beneficial way to improve every smoker’s health.

Visit your doctor and/or health professional today and get a learned lowdown on how to effectively say goodbye to cigarette smoking.

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