7 Great Tips To Help Quit Smoking

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Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 15 Dec 2011 - 0:00 PST

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With New Year fast approaching, even die hard smokers start to give the habit a second thought. Giving up smoking is one of the more popular resolutions for the holiday season, as we think about ways to make positive changes for the coming year.

Giving up smoking can be extremely difficult for people, with bad moods, cravings and that lightheaded feeling propelling people to rush and buy a pack even weeks after they successfully stopped.

However, experts say that smokers should prepare a plan of attack to help them quit, and get over those moments of weakness.

Norman H. Edelman, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Lung Association said :

"Quitting smoking is the single most important step smokers can take to improve their health ... The start of a fresh New Year is a great time for smokers to implement their plan to quit smoking ... and reap the health and financial benefits of a smokefree lifestyle."

The Seven recommendations from the American Lung Association are : Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the various types of treatments and different over-the-counter and prescription medications that are available to help you quit smoking.Look into the different options available to help smokers quit. Visit www.lung.org/stop-smoking or call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) for suggestions.Take time to plan. Pick your quit date a few weeks ahead of time and mark it on the calendar. If you can, pick a day when life's extra stresses are not at their peak, such as after the holidays. Mark a day on the calendar and stick to it. As your quit day approaches, gather the medications and tools you need and map out how you are going to handle the situations that make you want to smoke.Get some exercise every day. Walking is a great way to reduce the stress of quitting. Exercise is proven to not only combat weight gain but also to improve mood and energy levels.Eat a balanced diet, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep.Ask family, friends and co-workers for their help and support. Having someone to take a walk with or just listen can give a needed boost.You don't have to quit alone. Help is available online and in your community. Consider joining a stop-smoking program like Freedom From Smoking® (http://www.ffsonline.org/) from the American Lung Association.Dr. Edelman said :

"Smokers don't have to go it alone when they attempt to quit smoking ... In fact, research shows that people who develop a support system and use programs like Freedom From Smoking® Online have greater success in quitting for good, compared to those who try to quit "cold turkey.""

American Lung Association holds giving up smoking as it's a public health priority. It began its Freedom From Smoking® group clinic program in 1981, which includes a comprehensive variety of evidence based cessation techniques. The association has helped hundreds of thousands of smokers quit. The American Lung Association recently introduced Freedom From Smoking® Online, a highly successful, self-paced online adaptation of the group clinic that is available 24 hours a day.

As Mark Twain famously said :

To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did. I ought to know because I've done it a thousand times.

Written by Rupert Shepherd
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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Teen Smoking And Drinking Drops, Marijuana Consumption Rises, USA

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Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Also Included In: Smoking / Quit Smoking;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 14 Dec 2011 - 18:00 PST

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Cigarette and alcohol consumption among 8th, 10th and 12th graders (14, 16 and 18 year olds) are lower than they have ever been since certain records began in 1975, but marijuana and non-medical prescription medication usage has increased, says a new report - "Monitoring the Future" (MTF) - issued by The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Consumption of some tobacco products did not fall, such as hookahs, smokeless tobacco and small cigars, the authors added.

In a news conference today, a NIDA spokesperson explained that more children appear to be abusing marijuana than cigarettes. Although alcohol consumption has dropped, it is still the favorite drug for children of these three ages.

Monitoring The Future is a survey which is done in classrooms and paid for by NIDA; it was carried out by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

NIDA director Dr. Nora D. Volkow, said:

"That cigarette use has declined to historically low rates is welcome news, given our concerns that declines may have slowed or stalled in recent years. That said, the teen smoking rate is declining much more slowly than in years past, and we are seeing teens consume other tobacco products at high levels.

This highlights the urgency of maintaining strong prevention efforts against teen smoking and of targeting other tobacco products."

The findings for 2011 revealed that 18.7% of 12th-graders said they had smoked a cigarette during the previous four weeks, compared to 36.5% in 1997 and 21.6% in 2006. Among 8th graders, 6.1% say they are smokers, versus 21% fifteen years ago and 8.7% in 2006.

Assistant Secretary for Health, Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH, said:

"While it is good news that cigarette use has declined to historically low rates, we can and must do more to accelerate that decline. The actual decline is relatively small compared to the sharp declines we witnessed in the late nineties."

Below are some of the results from the 2011 survey for self-reported alcohol consumption: 12th graders - 63.5% said they had consumed alcohol during the previous 12-month period, versus 74.8% in 19978th graders - 26.9% said they had consumed alcohol during the previous 12-month period, versus 46.8% in 1994Binge drinking - defined as consuming at least five drinks in one sitting at any time during the previous two weeks:

- 8th graders - 6.4% said they had, compared to 8.7% in 2006
-10th graders - 14.7% said they had, compared to 19.9% in 2006
-12th graders - 21.6% said they had, compared to 25.4% in 2006

6.6% of 12th-graders say they use marijuana daily, while 36.4% say they have had it at some time during the previous twelve months - five years ago the figures stood at 5% and 31.5% respectively.

While teenage marijuana abuse grows, so does their downward perception of risk associated with the drug: 25.9% of high school seniors viewed occasional marijuana as a great risk, compared to 22.7% today.48.9% of 8th-graders viewed occasional marijuana smoking as a great risk compared to 43.4% today.Among 12-graders, 11.4% said they had used K2 (also known as spice, or synthetic marijuana) during the previous twelve months. This is the first time questions regarding K2 have been included in the survey. The authors expressed "surprise" at this figure.Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy, said:

"K2 and spice are dangerous drugs that can cause serious harm. We will continue to work with the public health and safety community to respond to this emerging threat but in the meantime, parents must take action. Parents are the most powerful force in the lives of young people and we ask that all of them talk to their teens today about the serious consequences of using marijuana, K2, or spice."

Below are some more data regarding non-medical use of prescription and OTC medications In 2011, 8.1% of 12th-graders reported abusing Vicodin, an opioid painkiller, compared to 9.7% in 2009 (8.1% in 2010).In 2011, 5.9% of 10th-graders reported abusing Vicodin, compared to 7.7% in 2010.12th-graders - Adderal 6.5%, Ritalin 2.6%. Both medications used for ADHD treatment.8th graders - OTC cough medicines. Usage dropped to 2.7% in 2011, compared to 4.2% in 2006. For 12th-graders the figures were 5.3% and 6.9% respectively.Dr. Volkow said:

"To help educate teens about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, NIDA is launching an updated prescription drug section on our teen website. Teens can go to our PEERx page to find interactive videos and other tools that help them make healthy decisions and understand the risks of abusing prescription drugs. We are also encouraging teens to provide feedback on these resources through NIDA's teen blog, Sara Bellum, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or email."

Written by Christian Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our alcohol / addiction / illegal drugs section for the latest news on this subject. Monitoring the Future
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Researchers Find Smoking Is Strongly Associated With Squamous Cell Carcinoma Among Women

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 09 Dec 2011 - 2:00 PST

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Women who have non-melanoma skin cancers are more likely to have smoked cigarettes compared to women without skin cancer, said researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., who published study results in a recent issue of Cancer Causes Control.

The study investigated the relationship between cigarette smoking and non-melanoma skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Smoking histories were assessed and compared between patients diagnosed with BCC and/or SCC, and a group of controls comprised of patients who were screened for skin cancers, but who were not diagnosed with and had no history of skin cancer.

The study's 698 participants were recruited through Moffitt's Lifetime Screening and Prevention Center and the University of South Florida's Dermatology and Family Medicine Clinics. Participants were asked about their smoking behaviors in terms of years smoked, how many cigarettes per day they smoked, and when those who once smoked quit smoking. The results were stratified by sex.

Study results showed that cigarette smoking was associated with non-melanoma skin cancer overall, and that the risk increased with numbers of cigarettes per day, total years of smoking, and pack-years smoked. Associations were particularly strong for SCC, with SCC being more than two times as likely in those who have smoked for 20 or more years compared to controls.

"Among men, positive associations with smoking of equal magnitude were observed for BCC and SCC, although none of the associations were statistically significant," said Dana E. Rollison, Ph.D., study lead author and an associate member in the Moffitt Department of Cancer Epidemiology. "However, among women, smoking was not associated with BCC, while highly statistically significant associations were observed with SCC. Women with SCC were almost four times more likely than controls to have smoked for 20 or more years."

The researchers concluded that:

Cigarette smoking was associated with non-melanoma skin cancer, and the risk increased with increasing dose (cigarettes per day) and number of years smoked.

Among men, smoking was modestly associated with BCC and SCC.

Among women, smoking was strongly associated with SCC, but not BCC.

Why women smokers should be more likely than men to be diagnosed with SCC is not clear, said the researchers.

"Observations from the lung cancer literature may provide possible explanations for why smoking was a higher risk factor for SCC in women," wrote Rollison and co-authoring colleagues both at Moffitt and across USF's College of Medicine. "Female current smokers have higher lung cancer risks than men. Women have been shown to have more active CYP enzyme activity in the lung, where CYP is responsible for metabolizing 70-80 percent of nicotine. In addition, the up-regulation of CYP by estrogen may play a role."

Also, women have been shown to have higher levels of DNA adducts and lower levels of DNA repair in the lung as compared to men, said Rollison.

"Further study is needed to shed more light on the sex-based differences and the role of smoking in non-melanoma skin cancers," concluded Rollison.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Source: Moffitt Cancer Center
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