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Lee has smoked cigarettes off and on for 34 years, but the half-pack-a-day smoker recently decided to snuff out her last cigarette next Tuesday. She expects it to be tough. "Cigarettes have been my best friend since I was 15, and I'm 49 now," she said Tuesday night during a smoking cessation class at the American Lung Association, 2819 E. Broadway. Hector Juarez, cessation coordinator for the Pima County Health Department's Tobacco-Free Ways program, hopes Lee isn't alone. Reasons to quit are mounting, and that could lead to more folks kicking the habit, Juarez said. Tucson banned smoking in restaurants seven years ago, and the county followed suit two years later. Smoking in bars is still allowed in the city and county, but that will end May 1 when a statewide ban covering eateries and bars takes effect. New state taxes that took effect this week make the government's chunk of every pack $2.39, more than half the overall cost if you buy by the carton. Major brands now sell for about $35 for a 10-pack carton. "It's getting harder and harder and harder to keep going with this," Juarez said. Help available If you want to quit or want loved ones to quit, lots of help is out there. The state funds several programs through its Tobacco Education and Prevention Program, the county offers classes, the American Cancer Society has a quitters' hot line, and the Arizona Smokers' Helpline has counselors on hand to coach you with weekly phone calls. There are nicotine patches, lozenges and gum, prescription drugs including Wellbutrin and Chantrix, and self-help books are available at any bookstore. About 900 people a year go through Pima County's six-week Tobacco-Free Ways course, said program manager Karen Martin. The weekly hourlong classes, which ideally smokers should start before quitting, offer a chance to examine reasons for smoking and quitting and ways to quit. Such classes can push you over the edge if you aren't quite committed. "Some people come in and say, 'I kinda sorta know I should quit, but I'm not totally sure I'm ready,'" Martin said. The classes help them decide. Stress no excuse Many of the dozen people in class Tuesday night hadn't quit yet or had cheated. Brenda Goucher, 34, started smoking at age 15. She quit Nov. 25 from 2 1/2 packs a day, but she smoked part of a cigarette last week during a stressful moment, she said. She got no slack from Juarez. "A cigarette's not going to fix that moment," he said, adding that people who don't smoke are stressed, too. If you get stressed out, take a walk or ride a bike, Juarez said. Take your dog for a walk, offered a classmate. Goucher's husband, Joe, a half-pack-a-day smoker, tried to quit Nov. 25 using nicotine patches. But when his arm swelled and his heart started pounding, he dropped the patches. He has cut back to about three cigarettes per day and had five left Tuesday evening. "How long will it take you to smoke those five cigarettes?" Juarez pressed. "Let's set a quit date for tomorrow." Goucher agreed to try for today. This time he'll try nicotine lozenges or gum. Set a date Juarez stresses the importance of quit dates. Set a date, and tell everyone about it. The pressure of potential embarrassment can help, and others can offer encouragement if they know, he said. To gear up, Lee told the people around her about her quit date, started smoking with her left hand (to make it uncomfortable), took up crocheting to keep her hands busy and is planning a ceremony to get rid of the paraphernalia of smoking. Jeff Munger hasn't had a cigarette since Nov. 28. The 36-year-old sales representative is singing the praises of the prescription drug Chantix, which he got from his physician after a pulmonary function test. "He said I had the lungs of a 99-year-old, that there might be signs of emphysema," said Munger, who smoked about two packs per day for about 15 years. Choosing a method isn't as important as choosing to quit, Juarez tells the class. One woman in the class is quitting without any aids. "She's going to quit cold turkey, so let her be," he said. Accept slips, drive on It's common for smokers to relapse, so don't beat yourself up if you cheat, Martin said. "If you slip, it's not the end of the world," she said. Gary Forguson was in his second cessation class Tuesday. He attributes his mother's death Oct. 25 to cigarettes and cites her death as a motivator. But the two days he went without cigarettes last week were "the longest two days of my life," he said. "I want to quit smoking, but there's a whole lot more to it than just saying you want to quit," he told the class. One suggestion from many resources is to replace smoking with healthful snacks, such as fruits or vegetables. Martin sympathizes with folks who will gain weight if they quit. But the health risks of smoking far outweigh the risks of gaining up to 20 pounds, which Martin says is the norm. "You'll gain weight, but at the same time you'll learn about nutrition and eating lots of fruits and vegetables so you can deal with the weight later," Martin said. Smoking is the toughest of all addictions, worse even than cocaine, methamphetamine or heroin, Juarez said. "It's the big dog," he said. Juarez urges people to get as much information as possible, then try a variety of things until you find the ones that work. Mark Van Hoesen, 50, drew applause when he told the class he hadn't smoked since Nov. 9. Despite surviving quitting for almost a month, he decided to get a little insurance in the form of a coupon for half-price nicotine patches. "I'll get those, just in case," he said with a smile. © Copyright 2006 by CigarettesOn.Com |
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