Šalje: QuitSmokingSupport.com [support@quitsmokingsupport.com] Poslano: 5. studeni 2000 17:35 Prima: List Member Predmet: QuitSmokingSupport.com Newsletter: Volume 3 Number 35 QuitSmokingSupport.com - http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== QuitSmokingNewsletter - Sunday November 5th, 2000 Volume 3 Number 35 http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com support@quitsmokingsupport.com ==================================================================== Check out our new and very powerful search engine courtesy of Atomz.com at: http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/home.htm IN THIS ISSUE: ** "SmokeSaver" - A powerful interactive guide to help you quit! ** ** You Can Quit Smoking ** ** It's Never Too Late to Kick the Habit ** ===================================================================== "SMOKESAVER" turns your computer into a virtual therapist. By replacing your screen saver, SmokerSaver drops in on you several times a day, every day ? bite-sized instalments that accumulate into a comprehensive 30-day course. This powerful interactive guide shadows you throughout the day, initially assessing your habit, then advising you, monitoring your progress, supporting and inspiring you, until you reach your ultimate goal of being a non-smoker. Release early November. Visit: www.SmokerSaver.com to pre-register for the course, and get a $10 discount on the normal price of $38.00 ?no obligation. ===================================================================== Make sure you visit http://www.quitsmoking.com Excellent Information and Products to Help Smokers Quit! ===================================================================== YOU CAN QUIT SMOKING (A consumer guide from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Services) NICOTINE: A POWERFUL ADDICTION If you have tried to quit smoking, you know how hard it can be. It is hard because nicotine is a very addictive drug. For some people, it can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Quitting is hard. Usually people make 2 or 3 tries, or more, before finally being able to quit. Each time you try to quit, you can learn about what helps and what hurts. QUITTING TAKES HARD WORK AND A LOT OF EFFORT, BUT YOU CAN QUIT SMOKING. GOOD REASONS FOR QUITTING: Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you will ever do: ¡You will live longer and live better. ¡Quitting will lower your chance of having a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. ¡If you are pregnant, quitting smoking will improve your chances of having a healthy baby. ¡The people you live with, especially your children, will be healthier. ¡You will have extra money to spend on things other than cigarettes. FIVE KEYS FOR QUITTING Studies have shown that these five steps will help you quit and quit for good. You have the best chances of quitting if you use them 1. Get ready. 2. Get support. 3. Learn new skills and behaviors. 4. Get medication and use it correctly. 5. Be prepared for relapse or difficult situations. 1. GET READY ¡Set a quit date. ¡Change your environment. .Get rid of ALL cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and place of work. Don't let people smoke in your home. ¡Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked and what did not. ¡Once you quit, don't smoke NOT EVEN A PUFF! 2. GET SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT Studies have shown that you have a better chance of being successful if you have help. You can get support in many ways: ¡Tell your family, friends, and coworkers that you are going to quit and want their support. Ask them not to smoke around you or leave cigarettes out. ¡Talk to your health care provider (for example, doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, psychologist, or smoking counselor). ¡Get individual, group, or telephone counseling. The more counseling you have, the better your chances are of quitting. Programs are given at local hospitals and health centers. Call your local health department for information about programs in your area. 3. LEARN NEW SKILLS AND BEHAVIORS ¡Try to distract yourself from urges to smoke. Talk to someone, go for a walk, or get busy with a task. ¡When you first try to quit, change your routine. Use a different route to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place. ¡Do something to reduce your stress. Take a hot bath, exercise, or read a book. ¡Plan something enjoyable to do every day. ¡Drink a lot of water and other fluids. 4. GET MEDICATION AND USE IT CORRECTLY Medications can help you stop smoking and lessen the urge to smoke. ¡The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five medications to help you quit smoking: Bupropion SR - available by prescription Nicotine gum - available over-the-counter Nicotine inhaler - available by prescription Nicotine nasal spray - available by prescription Nicotine patch - available by prescription and over-the-counter ¡Ask your health care provider for advice and carefully read the information on the package. ¡All of these medications will more or less double your chances of quitting and quitting for good. ¡Everyone who is trying to quit may benefit from using a medication. If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, nursing, under age 18, smoking fewer than 10 cigarettes per day, or have a medical condition, talk to your doctor or other health care provider before taking medications. 5. BE PREPARED FOR RELAPSE OR DIFFICULT SITUATIONS Most relapses occur within the first 3 months after quitting. Don't be discouraged if you start smoking again. Remember, most people try several times before they finally quit. Here are some difficult situations to watch for. ¡Alcohol. Avoid drinking alcohol. Drinking lowers your chances of success. ¡Other smokers. Being around smoking can make you want to smoke. ¡Weight gain. Many smokers will gain weight when they quit, usually less than 10 pounds. Eat a healthy diet and stay active. Don't let weight gain distract you from your main goal quitting smoking. Some quit-smoking medications may help delay weight gain. ¡Bad mood or depression. There are a lot of ways to improve your mood other than smoking. If you are having problems with any of these situations, talk to your doctor or other health care provider. SPECIAL SITUATIONS OR CONDITIONS Studies suggest that everyone can quit smoking. Your situation or condition can give you a special reason to quit. ¡Pregnant women/new mothers: By quitting, you protect your baby's health and your own. ¡Hospitalized patients: By quitting, you reduce health problems and help healing. ¡Heart attack patients: By quitting, you reduce your risk of a second heart attack. ¡Lung, head, and neck cancer patients: By quitting, you reduce your chance of a second cancer. ¡Parents of children and adolescents: By quitting, you protect your children and adolescents from illnesses caused by second-hand smoke. QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT Think about the following questions before you try to stop smoking. You may want to talk about your answers with your health care provider. 1.Why do you want to quit? 2.When you tried to quit in the past, what helped and what didn't? 3.What will be the most difficult situations for you after you quit? How will you plan to handle them? 4.Who can help you through the tough times? Your family? Friends? Health care provider? 5.What pleasures do you get from smoking? What ways can you still get pleasure if you quit? Here are some questions to ask your health care provider. 1.How can you help me to be successful at quitting? 2.What medication do you think would be best for me and how should I take it? 3.What should I do if I need more help? 4.What is smoking withdrawal like? How can I get information on withdrawal? ===================================================================== It's Never Too Late to Kick the Habit Early Quitters Do Best, but Benefit Seen Even Later in Life By Daniel J. DeNoon WebMD Medical News Aug. 2, 2000 -- You're never too young or too old to stop smoking. Quitting by age 30 eliminates 90% of tobacco-related cancer risk -- but quitting even at age 60 still cuts this risk significantly, according to a report in the current issue of the British Medical Journal. A half-century ago, the lead authors of the new report were among the first to prove that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. By comparing these old findings to new ones from a large 1990 study, they were able to calculate the risks of prolonged smoking -- as well as the benefits of quitting. "The 1950 paper was written when the tobacco-smoking epidemic was at a very early stage," lead researcher Richard Peto, professor of statistics at England's Oxford University, tells WebMD. "Most women had not been smoking long enough to do themselves in. But by the 1990s, those who have been smoking have been smoking throughout their entire adult lives. Also, people now are trying to quit, so effects of prolonged cessation are apparent. Essentially, what we can do now is assess the effects of very prolonged smoking." The new analysis offers some intriguing insights: ¡Smoking eventually kills about half of those who never quit. ¡Smokers who started smoking before the age of 15 have twice the risk of lung cancer of those who started smoking after 20. ¡Lung cancer kills nearly 16% of men who never quit. ¡Fewer women quit smoking than men. Among those still smoking in 1990, more women smoked heavily than in 1950, and more started smoking before age 20. ¡For both men and women who continue to smoke, the risk of lung cancer increased substantially from 1950 to 1990. This appears to be due to the fact that smokers consume more cigarettes than they used to. Experts who commented on the study for WebMD say the findings give people who smoke a new reason to stop. David C. Christiani, MD, tells WebMD that the new study comes as no surprise -- it confirms many other studies from both the U.S. and the U.K. "I think this study is terribly important motivation for smoking cessation," says Christiani, professor of occupational medicine and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "It's never too late to decrease your cancer risk. You should stop smoking, whatever stage of life you are in." Joseph R. Landolph Jr., PhD, is associate professor of molecular microbiology, immunology, and pathology at the University of Southern California's Norris Cancer Center. He tells WebMD that tobacco smoke contains not only carcinogens -- substances that make normal cells turn into cancer cells -- but also substances that speed up the carcinogenic process, called tumor promoters. "There is a point at which, if you interrupt the tumor promotion, the tumor will go away," Landolph says. "Beyond that point, quitting probably won't stop tumor growth. When you keep adding tobacco smoke, you keep adding carcinogens -- and whatever it is that is in there that promotes tumors." Peto says that in the 1950s and 1960s, the U.K. had the world's highest rate of smoking-related lung cancer. While smoking remains the greatest single cause of premature death in that nation, the current death rate among middle-aged residents has decreased by half. "Now we've actually got the best decrease in tobacco-related deaths in the world," Peto says. "We have twice as many ex-smokers as smokers. Of those who have ever smoked cigarettes, two-thirds of the over-50s have quit cigarette smoking, and two-thirds of the remaining third wish they could get off it." ===================================================================== Take care and have a great week! Blair support@quitsmokingsupport.com QuitSmokingSupport.com http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to nosmoke-unsubscribe@listbot.com Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb