Dear Fellow Travelers:
I quit smoking in 1974. Although I was only 26 at the time, I was smoking two packs a day and had been a smoker half of my life. In Western North Carolina in the 1950s and 60s a person who did not smoke, chew, or dip was unusual. Admittedly my first years of smoking were done timidly and infrequently, but the habit was established; the craving for nicotine and the image of the good life pictured in TV and print ads gradually increased my use of tobacco. In December, 1974 after several failed attempts to quit I made a commitment to stop smoking. While the reason in itself is not important in this discussion, there were three other people who made a similar commitment in support of my effort. Within 36 hours, one had already apologized and confessed that they had resumed smoking. The next morning as I left for work I took a cigarette from a pack, walked outside, lit it, took one puff and crushed it out. By the end of the third day my other two supporters had resumed smoking; the next morning one more cigarette came out of the pack and was lit outside. At the first puff, my conscience seemed to tell me that I didn’t have to smoke and that I had the ability to crush the cigarette; then it seemed to add something else, if I decided to smoke that cigarette it would not bother me anymore about stopping. That was my last puff.
My situation was certainly different from that of so many others who have tried desperately to quit without success. For any number of reasons they continue to smoke, while often acknowledging their addiction to nicotine.
As a nation and as individuals most of us realize that smoking is a severe problem impacting the health and finances of our citizens and our society. Still, the figures are startling: over 430,000 deaths each year are attributed to cigarettes; smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, one third of all cancers are caused by smoking and in addition to lung cancer 17 other cancers list cigarette smoking high on their list of risk factors. Chronic lung disease among current smokers accounts for 73% of smoking related health conditions; for those who have quit the disease still accounts for half of the chronic health conditions these people encounter. Of the 4800 chemicals contained in cigarette smoke, 69 are known to cause cancer and as research continues many others are likely to be identified as carcinogens. There are approximately 158,000 deaths each year due to lung cancer, that is more than the next three (colon, breast, and prostate) combined. About 90% of lung cancer deaths and 80 to 90% of COPD deaths are attributed to cigarette smoke.
Cigarette smoking is a habit that is hard to break.
Earlier today Joyce Graff and I interviewed Dr. Gilbert Ross, the Medical Director of the American Council on Science and Health http://www.acsh.org/ We briefly covered most of the statistics listed above.
(I would suggest that you listen to our entire podcast of the interview.) https://powerfulpatient.org//?p=613
Dr. Ross believes we can reduce the impact of cigarette smoking in America. He believes we can save lives, and empower people to live a healthier, more productive and longer life.
Dr. Ross maintains that in order to do that we need to break another habit.
We need to break a habit that is failing in its efforts to get people to stop smoking.
Ross is Medical Director of an organization whose mission is: to add reason and balance to debate about public health issues and bring common sense scientific views to the public.”
Ross and his organization holds the position that the utilization of smokeless tobacco may be the answer for many to their inability to stop smoking cigarettes. He feels that for others the use of electronic cigarettes, and perhaps even nicotine patches would assist them in avoiding smoking. Ross also mentions a Swedish form of tobacco known as snus which comes in small packs and is placed in the mouth much as many of our domestic smokeless tobaccos. Snus is steam-cured versus fire-cured which results in a lower level of nitrosamines and other carcinogens caused by the fire-curing of tobacco.
Public health agencies have been very slow to recognize the possible benefits of this process of harm reduction; their position is that people who want to quit cigarettes should be able to do so by a type of nicotine replacement therapy, and perhaps support groups and counseling programs. Ross maintains that the failure rate of these types of programs are alarming and that if this were a medical clinical trial being tested for a drug or cancer treatment protocol its low rate of success would cause it to be discontinued.
Paul Turner who is the Director of the North Carolina Spit Tobacco Education Program http://www.tobaccopreventionandcontrol.ncdhhs.gov/youth/ncstep.htm shared these thoughts in an e-mail when Powerful Patient asked him of his opinion of the harm reduction program advocated by Dr. Ross. Turner said that while smokeless tobacco use results in many health problems such as oral health conditions, high blood pressure, stroke, heart problems, stomach problems, cancer, etc…. The number of deaths from smokeless tobacco pales in comparison with the deaths associated with smoking. Turner’s position in the matter is that what ever gets individuals off cigarettes is better than smoking. His concern is that many will begin to use smokeless tobacco products when it is inconvenient to smoke and also to continue to smoke. Turner gives the figures used by the Oregon Research Institute that smokeless tobacco causes 9000 deaths per year compared to 430,000 deaths due to cigarettes.
Perhaps Dr. Ross does have a very good answer that will benefit many who are struggling with the battle to stop smoking. He admits the ideal would be to stop all use of tobacco; he realizes that for many that will never happen. Dr. Ross is presenting these people with an alternative; a compromise if you will – he is suggesting to them that perhaps by the use of smokeless tobacco, of electronic cigarettes, of snus, and other similar efforts so they can significantly reduce their risk of the damaging effects of cigarette smoking.
I see his point…
Listen to our interview about stopping smoking
Thank you for listening to his idea!
Warmest Wishes – Mike
