Stop Smoking: Secrets of Successful Quitters
Trying to quit smoking with willpower alone almost never works
Transformed. But breaking with nicotine can be hellish. The initial period without her smokes was "probably the worst five days of my life," says Hommen. She called in sick with flulike symptoms. Nausea, a common side effect of the drug, lasted the entire five weeks she took it. Nor is Chantix completely safe. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that Chantix can worsen existing psychiatric illness or cause anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts. The FDA advised careful monitoring by a physician. But Hommen had none of those problems, and the drug helped her begin a transformation from smoker to triathlete.
Research suggests that pairing medication with group, individual, or telephone counseling can boost abstinence rates by 40 to 70 percent over using either one alone. The 2008 guidelines recommend four or more counseling sessions of at least 10 minutes each; the longer and more intense the counseling, the better the result. Emphysema patient Wesley Derey, 59, smoked two packs a day for more than 40 years, losing precious lung function. But 30 days of Chantix and many calls from several smoking cessation telephone services have kept him smoke free for more than six months. Every state now has a free telephone quit-line, accessible by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
There are other weapons in the quitter's arsenal. "I think the most important thing people can do is change the social environment," says Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco. Two of Hommen's smoking buddies—her husband and a sister—quit with Chantix several months after she did, buttressing her with solidarity and support.
Hommen also set physical and athletic goals, such as tackling the Chicago marathon later this year. Running and cycling got her away from a social environment steeped in the cigarette smoke of family, friends, and coworkers. In vulnerable moments, reminding herself of these goals dulls the pangs, she says. In a 2008 review of various studies by the Cochrane Collaboration, exercise was shown to reduce the desire to light up and ease psychological withdrawal, and it may improve quitters' perception of their coping abilities and their self-esteem.
Road rage. Patients need to recognize the thoughts or behaviors that trigger that conditioned reach for a cigarette, says Jorenby—sipping the morning coffee, walking the dog, feeling sad or stressed. Individualized distractions to overcome specific urges can help break the cycle. One of Jorenby's patients smoked only in his car. The distraction that worked for him was to yell at what he called an "all idiots, all the time" talk radio station.
advertisement
