KICK the Smoking Habit

Nearly every smoker knows that smoking is harmful and wants to quit, but it is easier said than done. Non smokers say, "It is just mind over matter. You just need to stop smoking!" But many smokers say they have tried stopping and cannot do it. And with good reason.

Cigarette smoking and other tobacco use truly are physically addictive. Nicotine, the drug in tobacco, causes this addiction to the psychoactive effect and forms the compulsive behavior of continued use, despite the known damage to your body and to those around you through secondhand smoke.

Nicotine causes many effects in the body: Increased blood pressure and heart rate; narrowing of blood vessels (which lowers skin temperature); increased respiration; decreased reactions to stress; increased alertness and concentration; release of glycogen (the body's stored energy source) from the liver which produces an uplifting feeling that affects fatigue; and the release of dopamine producing feelings of euphoria that makes the user want to repeat the process to experience more pleasure.

As the effects of nicotine wear off, usually within 30 minutes, the user starts to suffer the discomforts of craving more nicotine--irritability, jumpiness, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, nausea, and sometimes a headache. Generally the user is not smoking to reach the pleasant, stimulated feeling provided by the rush of nicotine, but rather to try and maintain a constant level of nicotine in the brain to ward off the withdrawal symptoms. The user is hooked!

Despite the difficulty, it is important to stop smoking for many reasons. The health hazards of tobacco use are well known. They include increased risk of premature death and disability from heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and respiratory disease. Tobacco also is the leading cause of cancers of the larynx, mouth, and esophagus, and can contribute to cancers of the bladder, pancreas, kidney, stomach, uterine, and colon. Smokers tend to have more upper respiratory infections (colds and flu) and reproductive problems, more depression, and increased discomfort during exercise. Smoking causes premature facial wrinkling. And these negative outcomes are only the effects on the person smoking!

Making the decision to quit is easy, but doing so can be incredibly difficult. Perhaps considering what smoking does to the children you love and care for will provide additional motivation for smokers to kick the habit.

• A smoker's life is shortened--often leaving a child without a parent too soon.
• Smoking during pregnancy causes newborns to be, on average, seven ounces smaller than normal. It also increases the risk of spontaneous abortion or fetal death.
• Babies born to smoking mothers have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Children living with smoking parents are more likely to miss school because of respiratory problems.
• Children exposed to second hand smoke have an increased prevalence of coughing and wheezing, ear infections, respiratory diseases including pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchiolitis, and increased symptoms of asthma.

Many childcare programs (as well as other places of employment) have policies regarding smoking in the work place. Most likely, if you are a smoker, you are not allowed to smoke while at work. Even stepping outside or to a designated smoking area can have a negative effect on children because you, the role model, show children that smoking is acceptable. If you are a smoker, consider not smoking at all during your work day. Better yet, do something for your health and try to quit! Quitting cold turkey has been shown to be the most effective way to stop smoking. But if you cannot do that, here are some other options to help you stop:

• Start by trying to cut back: inhale less, smoke fewer cigarettes, take fewer puffs, smoke cigarettes only 1/3 of the way down (the majority of nicotine and tars are in the last few puffs of the cigarette), choose a low-tar and low-nicotine cigarette.
• Participate in a smoking cessation program with the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, etc.
• Use self-help methods such as books, videotapes, and computer programs.
• Ask your doctor to prescribe the nicotine patch, nicotine inhalers, or an antidepressant to help reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
• Find a group-based behavior modification program.

Do not give up. Research has shown that the average person has to try to stop at least three times before quitting successfully!

RESOURCES

American Lung Association, 1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019; 212-315-8700; www.lungusa.org/tobacco/index.html

Tobacco Information and Prevention Source, Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Publications Catalog, Mail Stop K-50, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717; 800-CDC-1311; www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm

INTERNET RESOURCES

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smoking.html