Posts Tagged quit smoking

Medications Taken Earlier Help Improve Quitting Success Rates

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on January 10th, 2012

It has been suggested that a more successful way to quit smoking is by taking smoking cessation drugs earlier than a person’s scheduled quit date.

quit smokingA study conducted at the University of Buffalo Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RCPI) showed that participants who took the medication varenicline, also known as Chantix, four weeks before they actually quit smoking had more successful attempts to quit compared to those who took the medication just a week before their quit date.

Lead researcher and author of the study Larry W. Hawk Jr., PhD said that the medication is best taken a few weeks before quitting which is contrary to the one week prescribed period of taking the drug before completely getting rid of the tobacco habit.

“Varenicline was designed to make smoking less rewarding, and our data suggests that it does that better when people take it for a few extra weeks before quitting.”

While the treatment procedure has not been officially adapted, it could be one that will help smokers to successfully quit. “We saw nearly full compliance, which suggests that this is not only a well-tolerated therapy, but one people can realistically stick with,” says co-author Martin C. Mahoney, MD, PhD from RPCI’s Departments of Medicine and Health Behavior.

Participants reported side effects such as mild nausea in the first few days of treatment but the condition goes away after a few weeks. The extra varenicline in the system affects one’s taste buds and makes a person nauseated but Dr. Mahoney clarified that these side effects are in fact the factors that reduce smoking rates even before smokers try to quit.

Comparing men and women participants of the study, men reduced smoking rates by 26% after four weeks of taking the medication while women registered more than 50% drop in smoking rates on the average after just three weeks of taking varenicline.

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Text Messages Can Help Smokers Quit

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on July 1st, 2011

Are you one of those people who just can’t seem to quit smoking? The help that you need might just be in your mobile phones.

In a study done on smokers in the U.K., it was found out that motivational and supportive text messages have made a difference in the number of those who want to totally quit their nicotine habit.

smokingAccording to a feature from WebMD, the study, dubbed as “txt2stop,” is the first of its kind to make use of text messages that motivate and give support to smokers who are trying to quit. Surprisingly, quit rates were noted to double in just six months for smokers who receive motivational text messages while those who receive standard ones did not reflect any change in statistics.

Dr. Caroline Free from the Clinical Trials Research Unit of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says that text messages that motivate and support smokers to quit definitely affect success rates in quitting. “People described txt2stop as like having a ‘friend’ encouraging them or an ‘angel on their shoulder. It helped people resist the temptation to smoke.”

Some examples of motivational texts used in the study include those that give tips to reduce or prevent weight gain and those that help control their cravings. An example reads “Cravings last less than five minutes on average. To help distract yourself, try sipping a drink slowly until the craving is over.”

Even those who ‘lapsed’ also get support test messages like “Don’t feel bad or guilty if you’ve slipped. You’ve achieved a lot by stopping for a while. Slip-ups can be a normal part of the quitting process. Keep going, you can do it!”

Researchers and doctors agree that the study has proven that text messages can be a very powerful tool for smokers that they can take advantage of in their quest for freedom from cigarettes in their lives.

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Quit Smoking and Save Money!

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on January 5th, 2011

When you are encouraging someone to do something, it helps to have more than one reason in order to be convincing. In the case of smoking cessation, the million and one reasons to quit smoking usually boil down to improving one’s health. The state of California recently launched a campaign that focused attention to another worthy reason to stop smoking: keeping the environment safe.

A feature on the Los Angeles Times gives one more reason to stop smoking: saving money.

smoking costsIt does make good sense. Despite the fact that smoking cessation therapies and nicotine patches cost money, from a financial standpoint, these expenses can be viewed as a wiser investment, as opposed to buying cigarettes. Looking at it from another perspective, money spent on cigarettes is basically set alight, and goes up in smoke.

And the expenses do not end there. Aside from having to shell out as much as thousands of dollars a year on cigarettes, there are extra expenses to consider: buying breath mints, extra trips to the dentist to have your teeth cleaned, extra trips to the dry cleaners, and higher health insurance premiums.

Dr. Cheryl Healton, president of the American Legacy Foundation, a smoking cessation advocacy group, was quoted in the feature: “The cost of quitting isn’t typically the reason smokers give for not giving up the habit… but finding out that it can be a very manageable cost is good news for smokers who make the decision to stop.”

According to the feature, smokers who finish a pack of cigarettes a day spend as much as $2,000 a year on cigarettes alone. Trying to quit, on the other hand, usually costs anywhere between $25 to $150.

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Natural Ways to Quit Smoking

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on October 15th, 2010

For many years now, the natural ways to quit smoking have been proven effective. While effects may vary from one person to another depending on particular conditions or on the severity of the addiction on nicotine, these natural ways still help achieve one goal which is to help smokers quit and stay that way.

quit smokingOne way to go natural in quitting smoking is for you to gradually decrease the amount of cigarettes you consume each day. This method works best for people who are really determined and committed to quit. Going through with it requires discipline and organizational skills as you have to be responsible for your own plan of when to completely stop smoking. You have to lessen the amount of cigarettes you take in a day until you reach a point where cigarettes become a thing of your past.

Homeopathic remedies can also work against smoking. These remedies are based on natural ingredients that improve the body’s defense mechanisms and improve healing. They can help you deal with the withdrawal symptoms with the use of only natural herbs and extracts, nothing synthetic or artificial will go into your body.

Meditation and hypnosis allow a smoker to be in a relaxed state of mind which helps him deal with his withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and other symptoms well. By meditating, a person’s will power is strengthened which can make him resist the craving to smoke. It is also a good technique in making him change his lifestyle so that he can say goodbye to his habit. Hypnosis is another natural way to quit and it works by allowing your subconscious to work against your addiction without the obstacles that will otherwise be present if you are completely awake. While there are some doubtful of this method, results have shown that it does work.

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Common Tools to Help Quit Smoking

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on February 6th, 2010

Any smoker can understand how hard it is to say no to a cigarette once it’s accessible. Trying to quit smoking may be the most challenging activity that any smoker can undertake.

Quitting is tough; ask any smoker you know. It takes a lot of resolve and patience to be continually free from tobacco addiction. To help with the battle, there are options available in the market that helps with the withdrawal process. These common tools below are widely available:

nicotine patchNicotine Patches

A nicotine patch is a transdermal or skin patch that is attached to the skin. Upon contact, it releases an amount of nicotine to the body. It provides a safer and healthier alternative source of nicotine, which would help with a smoker’s urges.

Nicotine Gum

Nicotine gum delivers nicotine to the body as the user chews it like any normal gum. The gum is then “parked” at the mouth in a span of 30 minutes for full effect. Chewing gum has been a very good way to fight a smoker’s urges. Chewing nicotine gum has proven to be an effective way to ward off the desire for a cigarette.

Herbal Tobacco

Herbal tobacco is a combination of assorted herbs that consists of basic herbal smoke and extracts from grapes, liquorice, cinnamon and other herbs. Although the user still needs to light it up and smoke it, herbal tobacco is nicotine free and safe to use. It tastes a lot different from the original tobacco cigarette, but it provides a very similar experience that helps with a smoker’s psychological dependence on cigarettes.

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