While
some rare cigarette smokers can successfully quit their habits "cold
turkey," for most the addiction to nicotine persists -- despite
a number of pharmacologic remedies that have surfaced in recent years
but haven't found their way to the smokers' medicine cabinets.
Pharmacies now carry a variety of drugs to help smokers overcome their
cravings for nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes, which
tobacco companies use to lock consumers. The more popular options
currently include nicotine-containing gum, nicotine-releasing transdermal
patches, and even a specific antidepressant pill that targets the
chemicals in the brain that are responsible for nicotine addiction.
An Impetus to Stop Smoking: Tobacco's Persistent Toll on Health
First,
the facts on the hazards of smoking: While few would now contest the
widely accepted dangers of smoking tobacco, spelled out clearly from
parental and classroom lectures to the press and the recent Hollywood
documentary "The Insider," the data show that cigarettes
are still widely used in the U.S. and around the world. Roughly 25
percent of U.S. adults are still smoking cigarettes daily (men slightly
more than women), eventually contributing to roughly 1 in every 5
deaths in the U.S. (from both active and passive exposure). Another
study states that only 42 percent of male lifelong smokers reached
the age of 73, compared to 78 percent of non-smokers. Economically,
smoking is currently responsible for up to $50 billion in direct medical
costs each year, and has been slated the most significant preventable
morbidity in U.S. and developed nations.
Smoking affects almost every organ system of the body, leading to
many types of cancer as well as many other debilitating and often
fatal conditions. Specifically, smoking increases the risk of lung
cancer 10-fold and is the cause of 87 percent of all lung cancers;
the data also points to tobacco as increasing the risk of cancer of
the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas,
and cervix. Other smoking-related illnesses include chronic lung diseases
(including emphysema and chronic bronchitis), heart disease (smoking
is responsible for 20 percent of all deaths from heart disease, and
increases the risk of heart attack by 5 times for smokers less than
50 years of age) and carotid artery disease. In addition, smoking
increases the prevalence of peptic ulcer disease by altering the stomach's
protective lining, causes the formation of more cataracts and cases
of macular degeneration, and leads to an increased risk of osteoporotic
fractures in the elderly by limiting the formation of new bone. Isn't
the damage already done?
Actually, the detriments are partially reversible. While the risks
of death and other ailments increase with the number of cigarettes
and length of time a person smokes, the good news is that if one stops
smoking - regardless of how long he or she has smoked - such risks
decline dramatically. For instance, the risk for lung cancer falls
by 50-70 percent about 10 years after a smoker quits, and many other
diseases become much less likely.
Pregnant women who stop smoking before the end of the first trimester
(or before becoming pregnant) can reverse the risk of low birth weight
for the baby and reduce other pregnancy-associated risks. Overall,
studies show that life expectancy increases regardless of what age
a smoker decides to quit.
With all of the compelling evidence suggesting that cessation of smoking
will help people lead healthier, longer lives, the challenge is in
the delivery of medications and medical knowledge to the smokers.
In Part II we will read about the resources and remedies, which are
available for smoking cessation.
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