Be a Quitter!
Kicking the cigarette  habit may take more than one try, but you can do it!  

Lucie Turgeon

Breaking free of tobacco’s tyranny is a difficult task for most smokers. But when you have adequate support and appropriate aids, it’s a whole lot easier. The proof? Thousands of Canadians have done it. The important thing is to be determined to stop smoking—and to persevere, because it usually takes several attempts to quit for good. France Savard, 43, knows a thing or two about this. It took her two tries to quit—and she only smoked half a pack a day. Her first attempt didn’t last long: she quickly started again because she found the process too hard. But on her second try, she succeeded and has not smoked now for four years.

Photo: masterfile

I hated the smell in my hair and my clothes,” she says. “I coughed at bedtime, and smoking restrictions at work meant I was always having to grab a smoke before work or meetings.” On her first attempt, Savard thought she could beat her habit without the benefit of pharmaceutical aids—after all, she was only a half-packer.

Savard soon realized, however, that quitting was a lot harder than she’d bargained for. “I couldn’t sleep. I had heart palpitations and I was in a really foul mood—so bad that my spouse was on the point of going out to buy me a package of cigarettes himself!” she recalls.

Finally at the end of her tether, Savard availed herself of some nicotine patches and over-the-counter sleeping aids. After that, things went much easier and today she is thrilled to have wrested herself from tobacco’s control.

Harmful effects

The first stage in quitting is to understand thoroughly what tobacco smoke does to the body. Knowing the true nature of cigarettes increases a smoker’s motivation to give them up. “In Canada, smoking is the major modifiable cause of illnesses and premature death,” notes Dr. Chantal Lacroix, a medical adviser for the Department of Public Health in Montreal.

In fact, it’s responsible for 47,600 Canadian deaths a year. That’s because the smoke inhaled by smokers contains 4,000 toxic substances, which have harmful effects on many organs in the body. Fifty of these toxins are established causes of cancer. Tobacco use is associated with 85% of lung cancers, 85% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, 30 % of all cancers and 25% to 30% of cardio-vascular disease.

The new drug varenicline (Champix) helps smokers quit by blocking nicotine's access to receptors in the brain.

“Overall, you could say that half of smokers are going to die of a disease caused by tobacco—and also lose an average of 10 years of life expectancy,” Lacroix says. In men specifically, smoking increases the risk of infertility and impotence. In women, it is linked to cervical cancer, premature menopause, lower bone-mineral density and a more “masculine” distribution of body fat concentrated on the belly. It is also associated with complications during pregnancy such as a detached placenta and miscarriage, as well as with low infant birth weight and premature delivery.

“That said, the good news is that whatever your age and health status, it’s always beneficial to quit,” says Lacroix. “As soon as you stop, your health risks decrease and continue to diminish the longer you abstain—even if you smoked for 50 years.”

Butt Out and Your Body Benefits Big Time

Serious Addiction

In contrast to a widely held belief, smoking addiction constitutes substance abuse of the same order as alcohol and cocaine dependence. “When a smoker inhales cigarette smoke, the nicotine reaches the brain in about 10 seconds, triggering the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters,” says Lacroix. These, including dopamine and norepinephrine, induce feelings of pleasure, increased energy, relaxation of the muscles and improved concentration and mood.” These fast and pleasurable effects establish a very strong dependence in smokers, which partly explains why quitting is so hard. Deprived of his cigarettes, a smoker feels dreadful and experiences serious withdrawal symptoms that may drive him to light up again. And there are other reasons that make it difficult. “For most smokers, smoking is a really ingrained habit,” Lacroix explains. “A person who smokes a pack a day goes through the comforting motion of lifting a cigarette to her mouth about 90,000 time a year.”

Studies have shown that smoking is a risk factor for low back pain—even in adolescents who have smoked only a short time; it may reduce blood flow to dorsal tissues.

Furthermore, cigarettes are intimately linked to the daily social life of smokers: they light up with friends, over a glass of wine, after a meal, on breaks at work. And cigarettes are also linked to feelings. A smoker who is bored, sad, angry or stressed out will crave a cigarette to soothe herself. Some smokers resist quitting because they’re afraid of gaining weight.

Getting ready

According to Lacroix, there’s never an ideal time to quit. “You have to be motivated and well prepared, and you have to get support. That’s really important.”

It is also very useful to reflect on the reasons you want to quit and on the situations in which you smoke. And it’s definitely a good idea to change any habits that trigger your smoking reflex. For example, try getting up from the table right after eating or standing up to talk on the phone. It’s also helpful to fix a date after which you are going to quit definitively. This will help you work up the motivation to take action. “Without proper motivation, you run the risk of backsliding over the years,” Lacroix says.

Aids for Quitting

Your chances of successfully butting out double if you use medicinal aids such as nicotine patches, gums and inhalers, and the oral anti-smoking drug bupropion (Zyban). Gums and inhalers acclimatize the body gradually to survive without nicotine by delivering diminishing doses over time. In the meantime, they ease withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, frustration, anxiety, agitation and the urge to smoke. bupropion is an antidepressant that modifies the balance of neurotransmitters; this, in turn, eases the nasty withdrawal symptoms plaguing the smoker deprived of nicotine and reduces her craving to light up.

Photo: masterfile

A Brown University study found that vigorous exercise helped women succeed at short- and long-term smoking cessation—perhaps because it boosted mood and alleviated fear of weight gain.

“The success rate is also boosted by support from a health-care professional such as a doctor or a pharmacist, or by an intervention worker in a centre for smoking cessation,” Lacroix says. Even backup from a relative, friend or workplace colleague who’s there to help you through the difficult times can boost your chances of success.

Hang in There

Persevere in spite of any relapses. “The majority of smokers require several attempts before they succeed in butting out forever,” says Lacroix. “The important thing is to keep on trying to quit, drawing on your experience from earlier attempts and relapses and finding new strategies.”

So how do you stay smoke-free for good? “You have to take pride in your success; you have to reward and congratulate yourself,” Lacroix says. You must also stay vigilant your whole life and never think that after a certain amount of time you can sneak the occasional cigarette. “I’ve known a few people who started smoking again this way,” says Savard, who is overjoyed at being free of this tyrannical addiction. “And I wish every smoker the same success.”

For more info, go to www.hc-sc.gc.ca. Click on Healthy Living, then Tobacco.