The Great American Smokeout - Part II

Last week we talked about the Great American Smokeout, including the adverse health effects of smoking. This week, we will focus more on quitting smoking. Quitting smoking is one of the most important things that you can do to improve your health, no matter how long you have smoked or how old you are. Quitting smoking can add years to your life.

Adverse Health Effects

Last week, I gave a list of the adverse health effects associated with smoking. After publication, I recalled two more that are important, so I just wanted to add them to the list.

Smoking is associated with poor healing, especially of bones. Broken bones are less likely to heal and surgeries involving bone are also less likely to heal. Some surgeons who operate on the spine or bones will not even perform surgery on an active smoker.

Smoking increases the risk of chronic pain. Evidence shows that smokers not only have higher rates of chronic pain but also rate their pain level as more intense than nonsmokers.

Why is it hard to quit smoking cigarettes?

Mark Twain was quoted as saying "quitting smoking is easy. I should know. I have done it a thousand times." Many smokers can relate to this statement. It often requires multiple attempts to quit smoking for good.

Addiction to nicotine is one of the strongest addictions a person can have. When a person smokes a cigarette, nicotine is delivered to the brain within seven seconds! Once it reaches the brain, nicotine activates seven different neurotransmitters. These are chemicals that are responsible for feeling pleasure, reducing tension and anxiety, and increasing focus, to name a few. These outcomes are perceived by most people as positive and rewarding, which strengthens the addiction.

In addition to the biological component of addiction, there are also psychological and cultural barriers to quitting smoking. Tobacco may be used as a coping strategy, and it is often promoted as part of social activities. The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year on marketing cigarettes.

You can do it!

Even though quitting smoking is hard, more than 3 out of 5 adults who have ever smoked cigarettes have quit. You can do it too!

There are proven cessation methods, which can help people quit smoking. These include:

• Nicotine replacement therapy, including:
  • Over-the-counter patches, gum, and lozenges
  • Prescription nasal spray, or inhaler
• Prescription medications approved to help smokers quit, which may work by:
  • Reducing cravings for nicotine
  • Decreasing nicotine withdrawal symptoms
  • Mimicking some of the effects that nicotine has on your brain
  • Attaching to the receptors that nicotine attaches to (without stimulating them as strongly) leaving fewer places for nicotine to attach. This makes nicotine from a cigarette cause fewer pleasurable effects.
• Some people use a combination of the above, such as nicotine replacement and an oral medication, or maybe a nicotine patch along with a nicotine gum or lozenge.

Research shows that people who smoke are most successful when they have other support as well. This includes:

• Smoking counselors or coaches – Using counseling together with medication gives you the best chance of quitting for good. This can include telephone quitlines.
• The American Cancer Society Freshstart Program
• Self-help books and materials
• Nicotine Anonymous or other support group meetings
• Encouragement and support from friends and family members.

How to Quit | Smoking & Tobacco Use | CDC

Quit Tobacco | How To Quit Smoking or Smokeless Tobacco (cancer.org)

Dr. Anita Bennett MD - Health Tip Content Editor

The Great American Smokeout

For more than 40 years, the American Cancer Society has hosted the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November. Although the actual event happened a couple of weeks ago, it is an important reminder for us to talk about the health risks associated with smoking.

What is the Great American Smokeout?

It is an annual event that provides an opportunity for individuals, community groups, businesses, health care providers, and others to encourage people who currently smoke to make a plan to quit smoking. It challenges people to stop smoking and helps people learn about the tools they can use to help them quit. There are many tools available.

Why is this event important?

About 34 million American adults still smoke cigarettes.

Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the US, and the world. It causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the US.

Smoking causes about 90% of all lung cancer deaths. More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer!

Smoking causes about 80% of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the US would not happen!

Although the rates of cigarette smoking have declined over the past several decades, the gains have been inconsistent. We have seen an increase in smoking among young people recently.

No matter how old you are or how long you have been smoking, quitting has been shown to improve health both immediately and over the long term.

What are the health risks associated with smoking?

Smoking damages nearly every organ of the body! Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop the following health conditions:

• Heart disease (2-4 times as likely)
• Stroke (2-4 times as likely)
• Lung cancer (25 times as likely for men, 25.7 times for women)
• COPD – includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis
• Difficulty getting pregnant in women and increased risk for the following pregnancy complications:
  • Premature delivery
  • Stillbirth
  • Low birth weight
  • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or crib death)
  • Ectopic pregnancy (such as a tubal pregnancy)
  • Cleft lip and palate in infants
• Problems with men's sperm, reducing fertility and increasing risk for birth defects
• Weak bones, particularly in women.
• Cataracts and macular degeneration in the eyes - potentially causing blindness
• Diabetes type 2 (30-40% higher risk in smokers)
• Increased inflammation in the body
• Decreased immune function
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Cancer in other parts of the body, including:
  • Bladder
  • Blood (acute myeloid leukemia)
  • Cervix
  • Colon and rectum
  • Esophagus
  • Kidney and ureter
  • Head and neck cancers (throat, mouth, tongue, tonsils, larynx, soft palate)
  • Liver
  • Pancreas
  • Stomach
• Smoking also increases the risk of dying from cancer and other disease in cancer patients and survivors.

Next week, we will continue our discussion with a focus on quitting smoking.

If you have any questions about The Great American Smokeout, please log into your account and send us your question. We are here to help.

Dr. Anita Bennett MD - Health Tip Content Editor