FDA's New Cigarette Labels- Wonderfully GROSS!

Let's hear it for the FDA! Cigarette boxes will no longer carry the simple boxed warning that smokers have come to ignore over the last couple decades. Instead of these simple printed words, now there will be nine different graphic images with accompanying appropriate messages. "WARNING: Smoking is addictive"- showing a man smoking from the hole in his tracheotomy (a hole in the neck surgically created for patients on ventilators long term), or "WARNING: Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease" with a picture of healthy pink lungs next to horribly diseased lungs. I think my favorite, though, is the one I posted above, with the yellowed teeth and cancer sore rotting on the lip.

I believe we need to address tobacco addiction at the age and interest level of the smoker. Teens rightly aren't terribly concerned with emphysema at age 60, nor lung cancers even as early as their 40s. They MIGHT listen, however, to concerns about bad breath and yellow teeth. An older smoker, however, may believe tooth whiteners and listerine will fix any transient problems, but the threat of stroke or heart attack from tobacco-related disease might hit home.

Whatever the age, I am pleased to see new marketing strategies put in place to shake up the routine. The FDA will be rotating pictures/messages to be sure that smokers are barraged with new warnings as they begin to be desensitized to the first batch.
Smoking is VERY addictive, and I have yet to meet a smoker over the age of 30 who doesn't wish they had never picked up that first cigarette- even those who steadfastly maintain they enjoy smoking and "don't care if it kills (them)".

BOTTOM LINE: If you still smoke, PLEASE talk to your doctor and find out what options you have to help you QUIT for LIFE.

Seven Tips to Quit Smoking!

This week I'm focusing on QUITTING SMOKING, the absolute most important thing you can do for your health if you smoke. I've talked about prescription aids, but what can you do on your end? Lots! Here are seven tips that patients have had the most success with over the years:

1. Set a QUIT DATE and TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW (helps keep you accountable!)
2. Right NOW, only smoke the cigarettes you REALLY want (typically around 6 per day for a pack per day smoker).
3. Do NOT smoke the "trigger" cigarettes-phone rings, starting the car, turning on the tv or finishing a meal.
4. Have your car professionally cleaned the day before your quit date (if you smoke in your car.)
5. Clean out your "smoking area"- throw out or give away ashtrays.
6. Pick a splurge reward and earmark your cigarette money to pay for it! Cigarettes cost a ton of money, so toss those $5 and $10 bills into a large glass jar on a counter top each day and have a fun visual reminder of your savings, or post a picture of your prize and make a money "thermometer" that you can color in as the money grows.
7. Grab some really sour hard candy to suck on the first week as a non-smoker; the sour nature stimulates your salivary glands and really helps with the oral craving portion.

BOTTOM LINE: Start with these seven tips to insure that THIS time you will be successful QUITTING SMOKING!

SEVEN Ways to Leave Your Cigarettes

SEVEN seems to be the magic number for habits of successful people, right? SO...smokers, step on up to the SEVEN choices to help with QUITTING SMOKING! In alphabetical order, here they are:

1. Bupropion SR (Wellbutrin SR)- this is an antidepressant that works via unknown mechanisms to decrease your desire for smoking; you start it a week or two before your quit date, and it significantly shuts down that craving for a cigarette.
Common side effects- insomnia and dry mouth.
2. NIcotine gum- do NOT chomp it like regular gum! It's chew, chew, stash it.
3. Nicotine inhaler- used every hour or two during the day; may cause throat/mouth irritation and cough
4. Nicotine nasal spray- 2-4 sprays per waking hour as needed; may cause local irritation in nose and throat
5. Nicotine patch (now OTC, but ask your doctor which dose)- may cause skin irritation; remove at night so no sleep issues
6. Nicotine lozenge- may cause mouth soreness and nausea
7. Varenicline (Zyban)- blocks nicotinic receptors and sharply decreases cravings; Common side effects: very vivid dreams and nausea.

Are they expensive? Puh-lease! Are cigarettes expensive? YES! These aids are money well spent, and will pretty much equal what you are already spending on your habit.

BOTTOM LINE: If you think you've tried everything to quit, double check the list and head to your doctor for a new cessation aid!

Attention SMOKERS: Get Ready to QUIT!

If you found yourself anxiously scanning yesterday's blog about CT scans for lung cancer screening in smokers, hoping for reassurance that we now have means to detect lung cancer early enough that you'll have time to quit before it's too late, then read on...

If you are a smoker today, then the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING you can do for your health is to QUIT. Period. While we are learning to detect and treat smoking-related cancers better each year, believe me, you don't want to count on a CURE. Often times the surgeries and chemo are devastating, though life-sparing.

I have met very few smokers who do not WANT to quit, though yes (my friend who shall remain nameless) there are some out there who simply enjoy smoking and hope they don't live long enough to end up suffering poor quality of life because of chronic bronchitis or emphysema. MOST SMOKERS WANT TO QUIT, but have not found either the right motivation, medical aid, or family/friend support to do so.

First of all, let me say that it takes the average serious smokers multiple attempts to quit. Have you quit for a month, a year, a pregnancy or two, only to restart? That is COMMON, and NOT a reason that you "can't" quit!

There are SEVEN different medical aids that your doctor can recommend or prescribe to help you from the pharmacy end of things! Have you really tried them ALL?
There are numerous behavioral changes YOU can make NOW that will help you quit, too! Stay tuned for more blogs this week with more details...


BOTTOM LINE: NO amount of nicotine IMPROVES your health, so make an appointment with your doctor to find out which method might work best for you!