House Call: Big Benefits for Smokers Who Quit

From OncoLog, December 2006, Vol. 51, No. 12

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Big Benefits for Smokers Who Quit

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health, but the stark facts may still be surprising:

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, responsible for nearly one in five deaths in 2006 alone.
The number of yearly deaths from smoking is far greater than those from all accidents, suicides, drug use, homicides, and AIDS combined.
An estimated 45 million adults in this country are smokers, and more than one third of U.S. high school students smoke.

Tobacco and cancer

Tobacco causes 87% of lung cancer deaths and 30% of all cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Tobacco use in any form—cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes, and cigars—also increases the risk for developing cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterus, cervix, and colon and rectum, as well as heart disease, stroke, and a variety of lung diseases.

Not only does tobacco affect the health of smokers, it also harms those around them. The U.S. Surgeon General this year issued a report detailing the health effects of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, concluding that secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke have an increased risk of developing a variety of health problems: acute respiratory infections, asthma, ear infections, and even sudden infant death syndrome. New research suggests that secondhand smoke also is harmful to children’s brains.

Quitting tobacco

But, as many smokers know, quitting isn’t easy. The nicotine in tobacco is extremely addictive, quickly causing physical and psychological dependency. Yet quitting is possible, and recent research in smoking cessation is finding ways to make it easier.

So what’s the best way to quit? Research shows that quitting smoking is best accomplished under the guidance of experts, according to Paul Cinciripini, Ph.D., professor and deputy chair of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center’s Department of Behavioral Science. “Tobacco cessation is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “At M. D. Anderson, we have a variety of stop-smoking programs targeted at specific groups such as pregnant women, cancer patients, new mothers, and teenagers.”

Methods that have proven especially successful include nicotine replacement therapy, medications, counseling, and support groups. Nicotine substitutes, such as the nicotine gum and patches available over the counter at many drugstores, gradually reduce the smoker’s nicotine levels. Prescription antidepressants, such as bupropion (Wellbutrin), reduce withdrawal symptoms, while a new nicotine-blocking drug, varenicline (Chantix), partially activates nicotine receptors in the brain to reduce the severity of cravings.

Changing the smoking habit

Changing habits and behaviors associated with smoking also can be helpful. This might mean

avoiding other smokers or asking them not to smoke around you
cutting back on alcohol, coffee, or other beverages you associate with smoking.
getting rid of tobacco and ashtrays at home, work, and in your car.
learning how to handle stress by practicing relaxation techniques.
making a list of situations that make you want to smoke and then coming up with some substitute activities to do the next time you’re tempted.

Benefits of quitting

The benefits of quitting are huge. Research has shown that significant health benefits occur almost immediately, even for long-term smokers. Smokers who quit before the age of 50 cut in half their risk of dying within the next 15 years. After 10 to 15 years of not smoking, the risk of premature death is close to that of a non-smoker’s.

For more information on this topic or for questions about M. D. Anderson’s treatments, programs, or services, call askMDAnderson at (877) MDA-6789.

Other articles in OncoLog, December 2006 issue:

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