By Linda Wasmer Andrews

Thinking about giving up cigarettes? If you’ve tried before without success, you may feel unsure about whether you can quit for good. Start by considering how kicking the habit will affect your health and life. You can also arm yourself with the latest techniques to help smokers quit. There are now more aids to help smokers become ex-smokers than ever before.

Up in Smoke
When you smoke, toxins are carried by your blood to every organ in your body. At the same time, the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke keeps red blood cells from carrying as much oxygen as normal. As a result, the cells throughout your body are deprived of the oxygen that they need to work properly.

In the long run, cigarettes rob many smokers of life itself. People who smoke lose an average of 13 to 14 years from their life. Half of all lifetime smokers wind up dying early of smoking-related causes.

Despite these grim statistics, there’s good news, too. For one thing, it’s never too late to stub out that last cigarette. “Even if you’re a 70-year-old who has smoked for decades, you can reap benefits by quitting,” says Norman Edelman, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. These benefits start as soon as you quit. Within 20 minutes of quitting, your heart rate drops, and within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood returns to normal.

Prescription for Change
To quit for keeps, you may want to use an aid. One type of medication that helps people quit smoking is nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT). Because nicotine is the physically addictive substance in tobacco, NRT allows you to focus on the psychological side of quitting. Once you’ve had a chance to change your behavior, you can then wean your body off the nicotine. Five types of NRT products have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nicotine gums, patches and lozenges can be bought over the counter. Nicotine sprays and inhalers are available by prescription. If you’re pregnant or have heart disease, be sure to talk with your doctor before using one of these products.

One non-nicotine medication has been shown to help smokers quit. Bupropion (Zyban) affects brain chemicals that play a key role in the craving for nicotine. Talk with your doctor about the best option for you.

Also ask about counseling and support programs. These programs can advise you about the best quit method to fit your needs.

You Can Do It
Giving up smoking isn’t easy, but it can be done. Within weeks after quitting, you may notice that food tastes better, your sense of smell is more acute and you can more easily be active without getting winded. Other people will notice that your breath and clothes smell better. Over time, the benefits will keep growing. By staying quit, you’re protecting your health — and the health of those around you.

Self-Help Resources

• Ohio Paramount members can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free NRT and counseling.
• American Lung Association www.freedomfromsmoking.org 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/tobacco 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)