Health & Wellness: Want To Quit Smoking?

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Want To Quit Smoking?

Daily Bread

As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15

There are places to go for help

“I will quit smoking this year” is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions and one of the most important steps people can take to improve their health.

You can quit smoking – even if you have smoked for decades. It all begins with a plan.

The reasons to quit are seemingly endless. Cigarette smoking significantly contributes to the development of heart disease, lung disease, and many types of cancer. Smoking also causes premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, bad smelling clothes and hair and yellow fingernails.

Taking a smoking cessation class is one of the most effective ways to quit smoking. It is very helpful to have a group of people who are going through the same experience to provide support for one another. Some people can quit cold turkey, but it is very hard. Most people need some support, said Molly Dyer, RN, BSN, manager of cardiac rehabilitation for Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis.

Smoking Cessation Programs
Some smoking cessation programs combine individual and group meetings. Program participants may be assessed to see if they are truly motivated to stop smoking. If so, they develop personal plans to deal with cravings and avoid triggers that may lead them to smoke. The group gets together to talk about what works and what doesn’t. In some programs, members are also given free nicotine patches to help stop smoking.

If taking a smoking cessation class is not a convenient option, there are good online smoking cessation programs available.

One of the most comprehensive sources of online information is the Web site www.smokefree.gov, a partnership of the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer Society. It includes:

An online step-by-step cessation guide.
Local and state telephone “quitlines.”
NCI's national telephone “quitline.”
NCI's instant messaging service.
Publications, which may be downloaded, printed or ordered.

The American Lung Association has an online smoking cessation program called Freedom From Smoking® Online. It is a seven-part program that helps people determine their readiness to quit smoking and understand their habit. Participants chart a plan for quitting and set a “Quit Day.” They spend time on the message boards discussing particular problems, fears and successes. They deal with weight control issues, saying "no" to cigarettes in social situations and establish a long-term plan to stay smoke-free.

The American Heart Association also has helpful information.

Stopping smoking is difficult. Most people fail at their first attempt to stop smoking and give up. “Sometimes it takes more than once to quit,” Dyer said. “People should not be discouraged if they don’t quit the first time.”

Source: Molly Dyer, RN, BSN, manager of cardiac rehabilitation for Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis
Writer: Elizabeth Todd Bartholomew, MA, APR

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