Answer Addiction

Tag: quitting smoking

  • Capitalizing on Smoking Cessation Could Curb Coronavirus Deaths

    The data we have so far show that smokers are over-represented in COVID19 cases requiring ICU treatment and in fatalities from the disease. 

    Politicians have been hyper-focused on the drug hydroxychloroquine lately, hoping it will be a silver bullet for curbing deaths from coronavirus. Physicians, on the other hand, are less convinced it will be helpful. But we’ve already got a medical intervention that could dramatically alter the course of the pandemic: smoking cessation. Fighting the smoking pandemic could curb coronavirus deaths now and save lives in the years to come. 

    Many people smoke and vape to stay calm. So with rising rates of coronavirus anxiety, it’s no surprise that cigarette and vaping sales are booming. But emerging evidence shows smokers are at a higher risk of serious coronavirus infection. If there were ever a time to quit, it’s now. 

    The data we have so far show that smokers are over-represented in COVID19 cases requiring ICU treatment and in fatalities from the disease. One study from China estimated that smoking is associated with a 14-fold increased odds of COVID-19 infection progressing to serious illness. This might be because smoking increases the density of the lung’s ACE2 receptors, which the coronavirus exploits to infiltrate the body. On top of this, smoking weakens the immune system’s ability to fight the virus, as well as heart and lung tissue. All of this damage increases one’s risk of severe coronavirus infection and death. 

    While less is known about vaping’s relationship to coronavirus, research suggests that it impairs the ability of immune cells in the lung to fight off infection. This appears to be related to solvents used in vaping products and occurs independent of their nicotine content. Vaping also shares another risk factor for coronavirus with smoking—it involves putting something you touch with your hands into your mouth over and over. Unless you’re washing your hands and cleaning your vape religiously, you’re putting yourself at risk. On top of this, we know that many people—especially those who are younger—like to share their vapes, which really increases the chances of catching the virus. 

    Most smokers want to quit and find that their stress levels drop dramatically when they do. Many vapers want to stop too. Quitting alone can be nearly impossible though. Luckily, support is available. Primary care physicians are still working via telehealth, and they have a wide range of effective treatments for what doctors call “tobacco use disorder.” If you can’t reach your doctor, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has created a national hotline for support and free counselling: 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

    Psychotherapy is one approach to quitting. However, medications such as bupropion and varenicline are also effective and can be obtained with a phone call to your doctor. Nicotine replacement products like gum, lozenges, patches, and inhalers also greatly increase the odds of success and are available over the counter. Few people are aware that you can purchase these with your health savings and flexible spending accounts. 

    34 million people in the US smoke, and there have already been nearly 700,000 documented domestic cases of coronavirus. Given the number of deaths we could face from people smoking during this pandemic, lawmakers should be doing everything they can to make it easier for people to quit. When patients have better insurance coverage for smoking cessation treatments, they’re much more likely to use them and quit smoking. 

    Federal law requires insurers to cover cessation treatments, but they get around this by restricting access through the use of co-pays and limits on the amounts covered, while also forcing physicians to spend hours on the phone getting them to authorize coverage of medication. With people dying by the tens of thousands, Washington needs to close these loopholes now.

    Amid the widespread panic around coronavirus, it’s important that we stay clear-headed and not overlook easy fixes that could save lives. We know that smoking cessation interventions could prevent deaths, so let’s make sure we’re taking advantage of them.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Nicotine and Self-Recrimination: Kicking My Last Addiction

    Nicotine and Self-Recrimination: Kicking My Last Addiction

    I had four months smoke free under my still loosely fitting belt and had been patchless for over 30 days. Hours passed without any thought of a cigarette. I felt confident. And then one day, I stepped on the scale.

    According to the QuitNow! app glowing from the glossy face of my phone, I’ve been smoke-free for 294 days. I have saved almost $3,000 and “won” back three weeks that otherwise would have been squandered away standing in the rain sucking on a Basic Menthol Light. 

    This almost unthinkable achievement, this formerly unattainable goal, is a boast I have bellowed to and fro for the last eight months to anyone who does or doesn’t give a shit. In support groups with quitters swimming in self-pity and weakness, I have proclaimed myself the victor over nicotine and tobacco; an easy battle because I am committed. Though 42 years of smoking may have damaged my body in ways yet to be revealed, I have managed to silence the relentless chatter of the irrational addict and return logic to the part of my brain that runs every other program of my life.

    That is, until a month ago.

    During my four tours in rehab, counselors and addicts alike proposed the theory that the last substance an addict quits will be the most difficult. I have 16 years clean and sober from drugs and alcohol but it was not without many slips along the way. 

    Whatever made me think I could quit smoking and get it right on the first try? The hubris of the addict.

    Using the NicoDerm patch system, the first few months of my quit were reminiscent of my first stay in rehab at age 26. The pink cloud, as it’s called, evidently happens no matter what drug you kick and it buoyed me through those initial weeks of cigarette cravings. I lived and breathed the Facebook quit smoking groups (there are dozens!) where I could experience all the regret, heartache, and depression of relapsing by reading of others’ failures while still remaining smoke-free.

    I weathered internet and cable outages and the subsequent maddening phone calls to Comcast that I thought I couldn’t endure, and I considered lighting up and smoking my Williams Sonoma Wintergreen candles to deal with the stress. I survived a devastating family fight that left me bent in half on the couch for a week, my tears spilling onto the floor until they crested over the cushions. I couldn’t write because I didn’t smoke and those two activities were knit together like a friendship bracelet. 

    But I persevered. I went on walks, something I hadn’t done for, well, ever. With my grandchildren, the nucleus of my motivation, I trotted along as they biked or scootered; again, unprecedented. 

    “Gwammy, you’re going to walk us to school?!” they would squeal, their incredulity expressing a maturity unheard of for a seven- and five-year-old.

    “Why yes, my darlings,” I would declare with the wisdom and assurance of Yoda. “Gwammy can walk now!”

    I had spent so many years anticipating the sudden fatal heart attack that would befall me should I exert myself even a wee bit, and now I felt a freedom I had not known since my teenage years, when I first started smoking but thought myself immortal. 

    And I gloated. I admit it. I went to the groups and while they whined and cried about gaining weight, I lectured about exercise and eating right and how it’s all about choices. Eat fruit and popcorn, like me! Drink lots of water, like me! Walk to the store, like me!

    I had not had a problem with my weight for, well, ever. At five feet and 105 pounds, I felt very positive about how I looked – in clothes. I was hypervigilant about maintaining my weight because at my height, even a few extra pounds could mean an unwelcome eight-hour shopping excursion to Nordstrom Rack for a wardrobe in the next size up. That’s not happy shopping. 

    I had four months smoke free under my still loosely fitting belt and had been patchless for over 30 days. Hours passed without any thought of a cigarette and most of the habitual smoking associations like driving, talking on the phone, writing, eating, cooking, breathing, living, had been broken effectively enough for me to feel like an actual non-smoker. I steered clear of the last few friendly smoking circles I’d once been a part of (people, places, and things) and reveled in my success. I felt confident. I didn’t need support.

    And then one morning, I stepped on the scale. And it was different. VERY different. 

    I had read accounts of ex-smokers who claimed to gain ten pounds overnight. I thought them daft. I accused them of looking for excuses to smoke. I showed them no mercy.

    And the scale continued to climb. 

    Suddenly everything that seemed manageable fell into chaos. Work became untenable. I seethed with HATRED for my boss, who had the unmitigated gall to ask me to do things. I purple-screamed in traffic at other drivers. I muttered in the grocery store like a sociopath when the deli clerk sliced honey ham instead of Black Forest. I stopped eating plain, dry, Styrofoam-like popcorn at night because clearly that was the culprit behind the weight gain. I cried on the kitchen floor because I could no longer have popcorn. I cried because I grew a muffin top overnight. I cried because I hate fruit and now it was my only treat. I cried because my thighs were about to…touch.

    The chatter returned. Quiet, reluctant, and shy at first, it built up steam quickly, as I fought with all the strength I could muster to shut it down.

    “Fatty. Fatso. FAT GIRL. You’re going to get so fat, it won’t matter if you live longer because you’re going to hate yourself.”

    “Shut it.”

    “Look how depressed you are! Is that how you want to feel the rest of your life? Don’t you know you could feel BETTER, happier, skinnier, right now?”

    “Feel better momentarily and then feel horrible because I failed? No thanks.”

    “Who says you’ll feel bad? All those other fat people? Who cares! You’re the one alone, depressed and getting larger with every clean, deep breath you take. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Walk, cut back on popcorn – it’s inevitable. Your metabolism is in a coma.”

    “That’s rubbish. Leave me alone. I don’t want to die.”

    “Drama queen.”

    I’d quiet myself down, still the noise with an audiobook or some raucous comedy on Spotify. But always waiting in the silence: the nicotine Night King, ready to strike…and I felt ill-equipped for the battle.

    “Hey, you know it took you four tries to kick drugs and alcohol.”

    “That’s true.”

    “Theoretically, you’ve got a few more years of smoking to go before you really quit.”

    “As illogical as that is, I’m listening.”

    And so it goes.

    I bought a pack of fake, herbal smokes made of marshmallows, rose petals, and the flatulence of unicorns. And I told EVERYONE. I brought the unopened pack to my therapist’s office and slammed them down on the couch. 

    “Let’s talk about these fake cigarettes,” I stated.

    And we did, but I still wanted to smoke them. I told my older sisters, my greatest champions in this quit, and they both implored me to refrain from lighting them. I told my son, who shrugged and mumbled “slippery slope.”

    I’ve smoked a few a day for about a week. The menthol flavor is not terrible, as the reviews on Amazon claimed. They help when a strong craving steers my car into the 7-11 with only one objective that has nothing to do with Slurpees. Already, my lungs feel uncomfortably full and I’m concerned about the long term effects of marshmallow leaf and unicorn farts.

    But for now, I’m still nicotine and tobacco free. I can’t say smoke-free anymore because that’s dishonest. I hope I don’t go back. It would be miserable AF to have to start a quit again. I hope I don’t gain any more weight. I’ve already dropped a grand at Nordstrom’s for a wardrobe to fit my new bountiful 115 pound frame. But mostly, I hope that whatever happens, I can cut out the self-recrimination as successfully as I cut out the popcorn. That, I suspect, is the deadliest extra weight I now carry.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Michigan Offering Free Nicotine Patches And Gum Through September

    Michigan Offering Free Nicotine Patches And Gum Through September

    Michigan residents can receive eight weeks’ worth of free nicotine gum, patches or lozenges by making a call to a tobacco quitline.

    Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is handing out free quitting aids to individuals who are looking to quit smoking tobacco products through September 30 of this year.

    Any Michigan resident can get eight weeks’ worth of free nicotine gum, patches or lozenges simply by calling the Michigan Tobacco Quitline at 800-QUIT-NOW, reports MLive.

    The offer is part of an effort to reduce smoking-related illness throughout the state alongside the Tips From Former Smokers campaign by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Tips campaign shares stories from those living with illnesses caused by cigarette smoke—either primary or second-hand—to help inspire current smokers to quit.

    “CDC’s Tips campaign reminds people of the harmful effects of smoking and connects them with important resources like the Michigan Tobacco Quitline,” said MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health Dr. Joneigh Khaldun. “MDHHS is committed to helping Michiganders quit tobacco products and reduce their risk of tobacco-related illnesses like cancer and heart disease.”

    The Tobacco Quitline, meanwhile, is open 24/7 and is available in English, Arabic and Spanish. In addition to free quitting aids, callers can get online coaching or advice via text messages.

    According to the MDHHS website, tobacco “kills more people in our state than AIDS, alcohol, auto accidents, drug overdoses, murders, and suicides combined.” The CDC estimates that, although the number of people who smoke tobacco has decreased in recent years, it’s still responsible for one in five deaths in the entire United States. This makes it “the leading cause of preventable disease and death” in the country.

    Currently, 34.3 million U.S. adults smoke tobacco cigarettes, and over 16 million live with smoking-related illnesses. The number of smokers has declined from nearly 21% of the adult population in 2005 to 14% in 2017. Much of this decline can likely be attributed to aggressive anti-smoking and tobacco education campaigns across the U.S. as the federal and state governments fight to reduce this stubborn health crisis.

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a list of major national campaigns, including Tips from Former Smokers by the CDC as well as FDA campaigns such as Every Try Counts for those who have attempted to quit multiple times and This Free Life, which is geared toward LGBTQ+ smokers.

    “Think about all the progress we’ve made. We’ve simply come too far to set ourselves back by using tobacco,” reads the This Free Life website. “This Free Life helps LGBT young adults achieve their best by encouraging them to live tobacco-free.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Warnings Featuring Diseased Body Parts Make Smokers Think Twice

    Warnings Featuring Diseased Body Parts Make Smokers Think Twice

    A recent study aimed to find which features made picture warnings the most effective.

    When it comes to the effectiveness of warnings on tobacco products, a picture is worth a thousand words—particularly if that picture features a diseased or damaged body part caused by smoking.

    Those types of warnings are the most effective at getting smokers to try to quit, according to a study published this week in the journalTobacco Control. Previous research had shown that picture warnings are more of a deterrent than text-only warnings, like those currently used in the United States.

    This most recent study aimed to find which features made picture warnings the most effective, and found that those with damaged or diseased body parts and testimonials encouraged the most people to try and quit smoking.

    “Humans act in response to our emotions,” lead author Jazmyne Sutton told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “When we feel a negative emotion—fear, disgust, etc.—we want to avoid the source of that emotion.”

    In 118 countries—including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—governments mandate that tobacco is sold in packaging that features pictures of cancerous growths, surgical holes in throats, amputations, gangrenous feet and other health ailments that can be caused by tobacco use.

    “There has been tremendous progress internationally in implementing package health warnings, with many countries increasing warning size, more countries requiring picture warnings, and an increasing number of countries requiring multiple rounds of picture warnings,” wrote the authors of another recent report compiled by Canadian researchers. “The worldwide trend for larger, picture health warnings is growing and unstoppable, with many more countries in the process of developing such requirements.”

    Those researchers found that larger warning labels—those that cover at least half of the packaging—are most effective. Timor-Leste, Nepal and Vanuatu had the largest warnings, which covered more than 85% of tobacco packaging.

    In the United States, warning label requirements fall well behind many other countries, thanks in part to the still-powerful tobacco lobby. America had the smallest warning labels out of 206 countries reviewed by researchers.

    In 2009, Congress passed a law requiring the use of warning labels with photos. However, the implementation of the law has been hindered by a lawsuit from tobacco manufacturers and retailers.

    This fall, a court ruling ordered the FDA to speed up the process of implementing photo warnings. Proponents hope that this will help decrease the estimated 480,000 deaths caused by smoking each year, and reduce the number of Americans living with a smoking-related illness, currently estimated to be more than 16 million.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Could "Magic Mushrooms" Help You Stop Smoking?

    Could "Magic Mushrooms" Help You Stop Smoking?

    A new study examined whether psilocybin could help long-time smokers put down their butts for good. 

    Once dismissed as a remnant of ’60s counterculture, and eventually banned as a Schedule I drug, psilocybin—the naturally-occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms, thus earning them the sobriquet “magic mushrooms”—has in recent years been ushered to the forefront of medical and psychological research for its reported efficacy in treating any number of health conditions, including depression and alcoholism.

    Now, a new study suggests that psilocybin may also help to curb smoking, as evidenced by the results of six years of research involving smokers who had tried and failed to quit smoking on multiple occasions.

    The study found that through controlled psilocybin use and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), more than half of the participants had successfully quit smoking after a six-month period—a higher rate of abstinence than with CBT alone, according to researchers.

    The study, conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, involved 15 study participants—10 men and 5 women, all at an average age of 51, and who smoked, on average, slightly less than a full pack (19 cigarettes) daily for 31 years. All had attempted to stop smoking on previous occasions, but had failed.

    The study authors administered treatment to the participants and then followed up with them over a period of six years, between 2009 and 2015.

    The treatment consisted of carefully controlled and monitored psilocybin use in conjunction with CBT. After a period of more than two years, the researchers invited the participants to take part in a follow-up interview to determine if and how the treatment affected their smoking. Twelve of the original 15 participants took part in the interview.

    What researchers found was that the 12 participants had not only succeeded in complete smoking cessation after six months, but also experienced a host of additional emotional and psychological responses to the treatment.

    Participants said that through a combination of the treatment, counseling, a “strong rapport” with the study team, and a sense of momentum after taking part in the study all contributed to their achieving abstinence.

    They also reported “gaining vivid insights into self-identity and reasons for smoking” from the psilocybin treatment, and the sense of “interconnectedness, curiosity and awe” continued after the treatment had ended. Participants also said that they felt an array of “persistent” positive feelings, including “increased aesthetic appreciation, altruism, and pro-social behavior” as a result of their participation.

    The researchers concluded that the results of their study underscored the value in continuing research into what some have labeled “psychedelic therapy,” and recommended future research trials.

    Their findings also supported previous study findings by Johns Hopkins researchers, which suggested that lifetime smokers treated with psilocybin experienced twice the rate of abstinence than those who used the FDA-approved drug Chantix.

    View the original article at thefix.com