Smoking Cessation
What is smoking cessation?
Smoking is something which effects many of us, either through our direct participation in this socially acceptable bad habit or through passive or second hand smoke inhaled from other people around us who smoke. As we all know, there are some fairly direr health implications associated with this past time – including cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease which can result in the blockage of an artery, resulting in a stroke or heart attack.
Around 26% of the adult population here in the UK are smokers with over half of these, approximately 68%, wanting to or are actively attempting to give up. The main problem faced by those wanting to turn their back on nicotine is it’s addictive nature with many studies ranking the substance alongside illegal narcotics including cocaine and heroin in the addictive stakes. As a result, when a person tries to kick the habit they are met with immense and often unbearable withdrawal symptoms which are unbeatable for most people with will power alone.
Smoking cessation, as I’m sure you have already concluded, is when an individual attempts to give up with or without the assistance of any medical product. Most smokers will require, on average, between five and seven separate attempts at giving up before they succeed with the majority of people relapsing as early as the first week.
What are the health risks of smoking?
There are an endless number of health risks associated with smoking, many of which if left to developed can become life threatening. The main culprits of premature deaths related to smoking, which also cost the NHS a staggering 1.7 Billion per year, are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, cancers and Atherosclerosis. Conditions and disease such as these account for nearly 114,000 deaths each year within the UK, which is as many as five times higher than the combined total of deaths from accidental deaths, overdose or poisoning, HIV infection, manslaughter, suicide, murder and liver disease as a direct result of alcoholism.
What are the benefits of giving up smoking?
It is important to understand as a smoker that there are health benefits which can be reaped irrespective of how long you have been a smoker or when you decide to give up. It is a common misconception that there is some sort of point of no return, or marker, which if passed will render all efforts to quit useless as the damage has already been caused. This is simply not the case, it is correct that some of the detrimental effects of prolonged smoking are irreversible but there are so many more which are not.
Below you will find a table detailing the benefits of giving up and also how long it would take for you to start benefiting from them. Please note that the information provided in this table is as a guide and there may be variation from person to person as to the precise timeframe a particular benefit may be experienced.
30 Minutes
Your pulse rate and blood pressure should return to that of a non-smoker.
10 Hours
Carbon Monoxide and Nicotine levels within your blood will become half that of a smoker.
24 Hours
Mucus and other smoking related debris found within a regular smokers lungs as well as traces of Carbon Monoxide within the blood will no longer be present.
48 Hours
Nicotine traces will also be removed from the body as well as an increase in your ability to taste and smell.
72 Hours
Bronchial tubes start to relax, increasing energy levels and the ease at which you are able to breathe.
2 to 12 Weeks
Blood circulation is improved.
3 to 10 Months
Breathing problems, as well as coughs and wheezing caused as a result of smoking, improve dramatically as lung function is increased by 10-15%.
1 Year
The risk of suffering a heart attack is reduced to half that of a non-smoker.
10 Years
The risk of developing lung and other smoking related cancers is reduced to that of half that of a non-smoker.
15 Years
The risk of having a heart attack as a smoker will be reduced to that of someone who has never smoked.
How can nicotine addiction be treated?
Nicotine addiction can be combated using a variety of methods, including both over the counter and prescription treatment options. Traditionally, smoking has been treated by replacing the nicotine which is lost from smoking in a bid to prevent the horrid withdrawal symptoms and cravings which a smoker will experience. This method, know as NRT or nicotine replacement therapy, can be bought over the counter at pharmacies and supermarkets but is not terribly effective with as little as one in five of those giving up actually managing to do so. There are however prescription drug therapies which are available to fight your addiction, these are Zyban and Champix. Zyban, originally marketed as an anti-depressant under the trade name wellbutrin, was discovered by accident as a treatment for smoking cessation when smokers who were taking this drug to tackle depression suddenly found themselves putting down their cigarettes as apposed to lighting them. There are drawbacks to this treatment however, the first of which is that how exactly Zyban works is not fully understood and secondly the side effects which come with this option. These side effects, which are mainly psychological can include insomnia, anxiety and even full blown depression, Another key point to note about Zyban is that its success rate, in comparison to Champix which is the only other prescription medication available for this action, is somewhat laughable with only 29% of smokers managing to quit compared to that of 44% of those who used Champix. As the new kid on the block as far as smoking remedies go, Champix has received critical acclaim with its release onto the market half way through last year. The positive press which it has received is due to its success rate, some 15% higher than Zyban, and less sever side effects in comparison.