Sorry for the recent lack of posts, we're on a tight submission deadline and will be back on the blog next week. In the meantime: e-cigarettes. If you haven't seen them, you might have seen them advertised in a banner ad or in a magazine. They are little plastic devices that look like cigarettes (or sometimes they're styled to look like a pen), you use them like cigarettes, but they use cartridges that produces inhalable nicotine and even vapor that looks like smoke. Sounds good, right?
The problem with alternatives to cigarettes is nicotine itself. Nicotine is actually not easily absorbed by the body. In regular cigarettes, tar acts as a binding and delivery agent which allows nicotine to be absorbed in seconds. In stop smoking aids such as the patch, lozenges or gum, there is no added substance to help nicotine be absorbed, which means that it does less damage to the body but takes up to ten minutes to get the feeling you get from a cigarette in a few seconds. And e-cigarettes? Well, they use a substance called ethylene glycol, more commonly know as anti-freeze, to get the nicotine into your system quickly. Sometimes propylene glycol may be used- a compound also used as a dispersant in oil spills, as a de-icer on airplanes, the main ingredient in stick deoderants, and as an insecticide.
The thing is, e-cigarettes are not marketed as a harm-reduction agent or as a smoking cessation aid, and therefore they are not currently subject to FDA regulation. That means no one knows whether the long-term effects of breathing in anti-freeze are more or less dangerous than tobacco with its tar and added carcinogens. Despite several states (including New York) having introduced legislation to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and adults alike, sales are increasing at a steady pace.
There are physicians' organizations that have endorsed the use of e-cigarettes, primarily because they do not produce the type of second hand smoke that has proven so dangerous. E-cigarettes and their nicotine containing cartridges have been banned in several countries (including Canada), and in Australia they are classed as poisons. Bottom line? Buyer beware.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Smoking Cessation
Even today Tobacco use is the second cause of death globally [after high blood pressure] and is currently responsible for killing one in 10 adults world wide. Below are facts about smoking, which illustrate just how important it is for someone with any stage of disease to kick the habit.
Why is nicotine so addictive?
One Puff of smoke sends nicotine to your brain within 10 seconds.
Makes you feel more calm and alert.
You enjoy the feeling so you continue to smoke.
Just one puff... Long-term effectsThe chemical structure of your brain changes - it wants more nicotine to have the same effect.
You become addicted – you associate your daily routine with cravings to make sure you get a steady flow of nicotine.
The role of cigarettes becomes important in your life as the brain consistently looks for a nicotine fix.
How will my lungs benefit if I stop smoking?
There are many health benefits to stopping smoking and not just to your lungs.
Immediate benefitsLevels of toxic substances that are carried to your lungs in cigarette smoke will drop to those of a non-smoker within a few days, which means your lungs will be able to take in more oxygen, which will make it easier for you to breathe.
Benefits after a few weeksYour airways will become less inflamed, which means you will:
• Cough less.
• Produce less phlegm.
• You will gradually find it easier to exercise.
Long-term benefits• Long-term damage to your lungs will stop the moment you give up. Severely damaged lungs cannot return to normal, but by quitting before serious damage is done, you can prevent diseases such as COPD getting worse. If you remain cigarette-free you will:
• Reduce your risk of being severely breathless and disabled or dying from COPD.
• Reduce your chance of developing lung cancer. After 15–20 years, the risk of lung cancer is reduced by 90% compared with people who continue to smoke.
How can I tackle the habit?
No one pretends giving up smoking is easy, but if you have made up you mind to quit one can succeed. Set a ‘quit date’ after duiscussing with your health care provide. Use simple tricks to reduce your urge to smoke and help you quit. Look for triggers and plan to avoid them.
Find new ways of thinking and behaving.
• Remind yourself why you gave up smoking in the first place.
• Move away to another place where people aren’t smoking.
• Keep busy to distract your mind: daily exercise is a good ‘distraction’ to promote
continued abstinence, while counteracting weight gain.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Take deep breaths.
Beware: some triggers for smoking only reveal themselves after you try to live without cigarettes. Tricks that work for some people may not work for others, so quitting can involve trial and error. Keep going! Ask your doctor or nurse for help. Contact a telephone or internet helpline. The most important thing is to be determined and to persist.
If at first you don’t succeed, try again…Nicotine addiction is very powerful and so only 5–10% of ‘quit attempts’ are successful. Withdrawal symptoms, such as craving, irritability, inability to sleep, mood swings, hunger and headache, that occur when the brain is looking for a new fix of nicotine, are a common reason for relapsing and treatment can help this.
Here are some other helpful Quit Tips1.Do not smoke any number or any kind of cigarette . Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes but do not stop completely, soon you will be smoking same amount again. Smoking ‘low tar, low nicotine’ cigarette usually does little good either. As nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower nicotine brands you will likely just puff harder, longer , and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.
2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to-· Feel in control of your life?
· Have better health?
· Set a good example for your children?
· Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. I is well known that smokers usually quit after a life threatening illness like cancer, heart attack- the reason is that they suddenly become motivated after a health scare. Thus find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
3.Know that it will take efforts to quit smoking. Nicotine is addictive! Half the battle is knowing that you need to quit for sure for tat will help you to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal. You must give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, one minute at a time –whatever you need to succeed.
4. Don’t feel bad if it takes you more than one attemptThere is no ‘cure’ for smoking::; it’s more like managing a chronic disease. Most people go through cycles of stopping and re-starting the habit, which reflects the strength of your addiction. It is not failure. The good news is that:
• Each time you try to give up you are more likely to succeed.
• Counselling increases your chances.
• Medication increases your chances.
• Combining counselling and medication is the most effective.
5.Half of All adult smokers have quit. You can, too, that is a good news . When others can do it you can succeed too.
6. Get Help if you need.If you need help with nicotine replacement products or other medications please discuss with your physician or dentist.
Treatment options: Nicotine replacement products such as gum or patches can help relieve withdrawal symptoms by delivering small, measured doses of nicotine into your body. Strong evidence shows that anti-smoking medications can double or even triple your chances of being able to quit. An alternative treatment which doctors recommend for heavy smokers are non-nicotine drugs, such as buproprion SR (Zyban) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix). They are also effective in relieving the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The idea of taking a drug to kick a drug habit can make people nervous. Some fear unpleasant side effects, while others fear that one addiction will replace another. But smoking is so dangerous for your health that, if you weigh up the options, (i.e. taking medication or continuing to smoke), using drugs to help you give up smoking will almost always be safer.
Useful links
1. Smokefree Partnership www.smokefreepartnership.eu
2. Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) www.who.int/tobacco/en
3. ENSP - European Network for Smoking Prevention www.ensp.org
4. www.cd.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit
5. Globalink - The International Tobacco Control Network www.globalink.org
6. Global Smokefree Partnership www.globalsmokefree.com/gsp
7. Tackling the Smoking Epidemic www.theipcrg.org/smoking
8. The European Lung Foundation www.european-lung-foundation.org
Why is nicotine so addictive?
One Puff of smoke sends nicotine to your brain within 10 seconds.
Makes you feel more calm and alert.
You enjoy the feeling so you continue to smoke.
Just one puff... Long-term effectsThe chemical structure of your brain changes - it wants more nicotine to have the same effect.
You become addicted – you associate your daily routine with cravings to make sure you get a steady flow of nicotine.
The role of cigarettes becomes important in your life as the brain consistently looks for a nicotine fix.
How will my lungs benefit if I stop smoking?
There are many health benefits to stopping smoking and not just to your lungs.
Immediate benefitsLevels of toxic substances that are carried to your lungs in cigarette smoke will drop to those of a non-smoker within a few days, which means your lungs will be able to take in more oxygen, which will make it easier for you to breathe.
Benefits after a few weeksYour airways will become less inflamed, which means you will:
• Cough less.
• Produce less phlegm.
• You will gradually find it easier to exercise.
Long-term benefits• Long-term damage to your lungs will stop the moment you give up. Severely damaged lungs cannot return to normal, but by quitting before serious damage is done, you can prevent diseases such as COPD getting worse. If you remain cigarette-free you will:
• Reduce your risk of being severely breathless and disabled or dying from COPD.
• Reduce your chance of developing lung cancer. After 15–20 years, the risk of lung cancer is reduced by 90% compared with people who continue to smoke.
How can I tackle the habit?
No one pretends giving up smoking is easy, but if you have made up you mind to quit one can succeed. Set a ‘quit date’ after duiscussing with your health care provide. Use simple tricks to reduce your urge to smoke and help you quit. Look for triggers and plan to avoid them.
Find new ways of thinking and behaving.
• Remind yourself why you gave up smoking in the first place.
• Move away to another place where people aren’t smoking.
• Keep busy to distract your mind: daily exercise is a good ‘distraction’ to promote
continued abstinence, while counteracting weight gain.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Take deep breaths.
Beware: some triggers for smoking only reveal themselves after you try to live without cigarettes. Tricks that work for some people may not work for others, so quitting can involve trial and error. Keep going! Ask your doctor or nurse for help. Contact a telephone or internet helpline. The most important thing is to be determined and to persist.
If at first you don’t succeed, try again…Nicotine addiction is very powerful and so only 5–10% of ‘quit attempts’ are successful. Withdrawal symptoms, such as craving, irritability, inability to sleep, mood swings, hunger and headache, that occur when the brain is looking for a new fix of nicotine, are a common reason for relapsing and treatment can help this.
Here are some other helpful Quit Tips1.Do not smoke any number or any kind of cigarette . Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes but do not stop completely, soon you will be smoking same amount again. Smoking ‘low tar, low nicotine’ cigarette usually does little good either. As nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower nicotine brands you will likely just puff harder, longer , and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.
2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to-· Feel in control of your life?
· Have better health?
· Set a good example for your children?
· Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. I is well known that smokers usually quit after a life threatening illness like cancer, heart attack- the reason is that they suddenly become motivated after a health scare. Thus find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
3.Know that it will take efforts to quit smoking. Nicotine is addictive! Half the battle is knowing that you need to quit for sure for tat will help you to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal. You must give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, one minute at a time –whatever you need to succeed.
4. Don’t feel bad if it takes you more than one attemptThere is no ‘cure’ for smoking::; it’s more like managing a chronic disease. Most people go through cycles of stopping and re-starting the habit, which reflects the strength of your addiction. It is not failure. The good news is that:
• Each time you try to give up you are more likely to succeed.
• Counselling increases your chances.
• Medication increases your chances.
• Combining counselling and medication is the most effective.
5.Half of All adult smokers have quit. You can, too, that is a good news . When others can do it you can succeed too.
6. Get Help if you need.If you need help with nicotine replacement products or other medications please discuss with your physician or dentist.
Treatment options: Nicotine replacement products such as gum or patches can help relieve withdrawal symptoms by delivering small, measured doses of nicotine into your body. Strong evidence shows that anti-smoking medications can double or even triple your chances of being able to quit. An alternative treatment which doctors recommend for heavy smokers are non-nicotine drugs, such as buproprion SR (Zyban) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix). They are also effective in relieving the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The idea of taking a drug to kick a drug habit can make people nervous. Some fear unpleasant side effects, while others fear that one addiction will replace another. But smoking is so dangerous for your health that, if you weigh up the options, (i.e. taking medication or continuing to smoke), using drugs to help you give up smoking will almost always be safer.
Useful links
1. Smokefree Partnership www.smokefreepartnership.eu
2. Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) www.who.int/tobacco/en
3. ENSP - European Network for Smoking Prevention www.ensp.org
4. www.cd.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit
5. Globalink - The International Tobacco Control Network www.globalink.org
6. Global Smokefree Partnership www.globalsmokefree.com/gsp
7. Tackling the Smoking Epidemic www.theipcrg.org/smoking
8. The European Lung Foundation www.european-lung-foundation.org
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