smoking in the news; Report urges state spend more on smoking cessation

from the News-Gazette

Report urges state spend more on smoking cessation

CHAMPAIGN – State employees in Illinois have comprehensive insurance coverage for smoking cessation, but the state is spending just a fraction of what federal health authorities recommend on a quit-smoking resource available to everyone.

An American Lung Association report released Tuesday morning commended Illinois for being one of five states leading the way in providing comprehensive coverage for smoking cessation for state employees and their dependents.

But the organization also found Illinois and 14 other states invested less than $1 per smoker in the 2010 fiscal year on their tobacco quitlines that offer callers help trying to quit smoking.

A whole 32 cents per smoker (supposedly) was spent in Illinois to help people quit.

The CDC's recommended funding level is what it would take for each state quitline to be available to all smokers who want phone counseling, reach 8 percent of tobacco users in the state each year, deliver services to 6 percent of tobacco users in the state every year and offer two weeks of nicotine replacement therapy to all tobacco users and four weeks worth to callers who are uninsured or under-insured.

...

Surveys show more than 70 percent of tobacco users want to quit.

Nah, or they'd quit.

Not all treatments work for everyone, so a range of treatments – seven different medications and three types of counseling (phone, group and individual) must be available to smokers under a comprehensive smoking cessation program, according to the report.

Actually, one size does fit all. If you want to stop, just don't do it anymore.

Medications and counseling are for people who think they want to quit, but really don't.

The good news, according to the lung association, is there are proven treatments available to help smokers quit and there are many ways to get these treatments to smokers.

"The bad news," the report states, "is that these treatments just are not getting to enough smokers."

If you want to quit, figure out why you want to quit. If you want to smoke, than there is no reason that will be out there to make you quit. If the state really wants to do away with smoking, they can make it illegal. It's easy, just do it. Otherwise, it's just bullshit.

I'm a moron, day 2 (quitting smoking, part 4)

It's day 2. Twelve hours into day 2. As of right now, everything seems to be going well. This morning after breakfast with Scott and Brad, I really felt as though I was going to go outside and smoke, and then I realized, I don't do that... so I didn't.

After yesterday, many of the triggers/routines have been broken, so it's getting easier.

I'm still having difficulty concentrating. I find it easier to just stare off into space than to try to focus on anything.

I'm not angry (yet). I don't think I'm irritable, however nothings really pissed me off, yet.

Right now, this seems almost easy. But, if the past is any indication, the worst will be tonight around 7 pm.

I'm not too hungry. I'm not extra thirsty. I don't feel much different other than I have a cold (but I had that before).

I don't understand people who need medication to quit smoking. It's just three days of this.

Stay tuned for the freak out tonight.

Where I'm at right now and what you can expect (quitting smoking, part 3)

My last cigarette was at 11:15pm yesterday. I'm currently 11 hours into this fun ride of withdrawal and triggers. I really want a cigarette right now.

No, I REALLY want one right now. My body almost just got up and walked out the door to go have one. Even though I know I need to make it through the 72 hours, right now, I want to smoke.

I can feel my heart racing. Well, it feels like it is, although I just checked my pulse and it's relatively normal. It just feels like my heart is throbbing. I'm having a bit of trouble focusing my attention. My brain just wants nicotine. (It's probably not helping matters that I'm sitting here typing about nicotine... ah nicotine... how I love you...).

I'm kind of jittery.

This is the fun stuff.

Honestly, If I can try to control my urge to actually stand up and walk outside and smoke, this is kind of fun. I don't think too many other people would consider this fun... but right now, this feeling, it reminds me of that first cigarette. (I've had that first cigarette a couple times, this is my third time at the stopping).

The first cigarette, it makes you light headed. It makes you jittery. It makes you cough.

I don't have a headache (but then I don't get headaches). I'm not physically sore from withdrawal (yet) I'm kind of stiff from softball last night, but that's not nicotine related.

So, what can I do when this feeling hits. The biggest thing is to avoid nicotine. This feeling will pass. Eventually. I may have some strong desires right now to smoke, but those will be gone in about 62 hours. Also, this is only 11 hours, this is nothing. The real good stuff is yet to come.

If I had a cigarette right now, I'd be at this exact same point tonight at midnight. I'm not willing to do that.

To make this time pass, the easiest way to calm down is to focus on my breathing and take deep breaths. If that doesn't calm me down, I can go for a walk. Triggers kick in the symptoms. Taking a walk will remove me from the trigger, then it's broken.

It's almost the half day point. I've gone longer than this without smoking when I've been asleep. This is just a craving brought on by a trigger. Calm down...

Today will be a day of trigger breaking, tonight should be fun. For me, historically, the second day, around 6 pm, hour 42 has always been the point where I freak out.

I probably won't write about what I'm going through again today, so follow me on twitter (link in the top left) for live updates throughout the evening. It should be a fun day.

phases of the quit (quitting smoking, part 2)

So, you decided to quit smoking. Here's what you have to look forward to.

Seventy two hour of nicotine withdrawal. That's three whole days of withdrawal. Whoo hooo.

Here are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal (from Google health):

• Craving for nicotine
• tension
• irritability
• headaches
• difficulty concentrating
• drowsiness and trouble sleeping
• increased appetite and weight gain

That's the fun stuff. (FYI, this is the third time that I've stopped, but I stop for the wrong reason, so I start again)

Remember, nicotine withdrawal lasts for 72 hours. That's three days. That's just for the physical part of withdrawal.

There's only one way to quit nicotine, and that's cold turkey. Anything else, is not really quitting, now is it? Cutting back isn't quitting. The patch isn't quitting. Gum isn't quitting. Switching to lights isn't quitting. There's only one way, and that's to just stop. (If you smoke more that 3 packs a day, you should cut back for a while, and then quit once you get down to a pack or less a day, nicotine withdrawal can be fatal, as can Delirium Tremens for people who consume large amounts of alcohol).

Once you've decided to start your three days of nicotine withdrawal, what kind of cool stuff can you expect? From my experience, (and remember, I've done this a couple of times) the fun stuff starts about 11 hours in. This leads to the second part of your withdrawal. The first is the nicotine withdrawal itself. The second part is triggers.

Triggers are the things that make you want to smoke. They are the things where normally, you just reach for a cigarette without even thinking. If you smoke a pack a day, you probably have several triggers that you know about, and probably some that you don't realize that you have. Most peoples first trigger is waking up. Cigarettes are part of your "morning routine". For me, I got up, urinated, then went out and smoked. Within 5 minutes of waking up I have my first trigger. The next one happens after getting dressed and ready to leave. If I'm driving myself, I'd get in the car and light up. If I was getting dropped off, I'd get ready quicker and then have one before getting in the car. Then I get dropped off and light up while walking in. That's my smoking routine.

Other triggers of mine include various portions of the road. If I'm going to a certain place, I know where to light up so that I'm flicking it out as I pull in. From my house to Hooters, if I light up on Windsor at the Lincoln Ave stop light, I finish the smoke right when I pull in to Hooters. So, when I get to that light, it's a trigger. You probably have some mile markers and roadside attractions that you light up at. When I was driving from Danvers to Champaign, I'd have three cigarettes on the drive. One after filling up with gas, one at LeRoy, and one just after Mahomet.

During the day, in addition to specific times that you smoke, you probably have various other triggers. If I'd get done working on a problem, I'd smoke. If I spent some time talking on the phone, I'd smoke. If I got done writing a blog post, I'd smoke. Have a meeting? Smoke one before, smoke one after. The meeting only lasted 15 minutes, doesn't matter, have one after.

You'll start to notice triggers, as you come across them. Don't give in. The cool thing about triggers is that once you break it, it's broken. If you are like me (which you might be) a trigger is "I ALWAYS have a cigarette when..." Break a trigger, and you can remove that line. Because you didn't do it once, the trigger is broken. I drove past that stop light, so therefore I don't always have a cigarette when...

The problem with triggers is that they can kick start a physical withdrawal symptom. You can be doing fine, avoiding all your triggers, but then... a bad phone call, and all of a sudden you REALLY want a smoke. Don't do it. If you are serious about quitting, then don't do it. If you want to have that same feeling 10 (or so) hours later... don't do it.

So, to quit:

Step one, don't smoke for 72 hours. Don't have any nicotine during that time. You don't need the patch, you don't need gum, you don't need to cut back, you need to avoid nicotine. Withdrawal starts from the minute you stop having nicotine. It lasts for 72 hours. Any nicotine just adds 72 hours from the end of that.

Step two, break your triggers. Don't always have one when you... Just don't do it.

*man, do I want a cigarette right now*

I'm no quitter... except when I am (quitting smoking, part 1)

Well, softball season is now over, so that means... it's time for me to stop smoking.

Last night around 11 pm I had my last cigarette until next softball season. That will be in April sometime. So, I'll have stopped for about 6 months. Many people wonder why I quit and then start up again. Currently, the only reason I stop is because Kridz doesn't like smoking.

So, why quit? (why quit anything)

To me, there is only one reason to stop smoking. (There is only one reason to stop anything). That reason is... you hate what you see in the mirror. That is the only reason why you will ever make a change that you will stick with. Unless you truly can't stand what you are, you will never be able to make a change in yourself that will last.

To make a change that will truly impact you, you have to hate yourself. If you don't truly despise yourself (and can attribute it to the one thing), you will not be able to hold that change. Without the hatred, you will be able to justify going back to that thing.

For example, what are some of the reasons people stop smoking? It's expensive, it makes food taste bad, it stinks, (insert person here) doesn't like it, bad breath, medical issues, you are the only one in your friends who smokes, just to see if you can... the list goes on and on.

For every one of those reasons, you can come up with an excuse to go back. If one of those reasons is why you stopped, if that reason is removed (or justified) you can go back.

Unless you can pinpoint that you hate yourself for a reason, and that reason is smoking, you can go back.

Atheists (like me) have some favorite bible verses. One that most of them use is Luke 14:26. Often times, that verse is taken out of context. In fact, I think I'm one of the few people who actually understands that verse. It's about quitting.

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Most of the time, when that verse is used, people say that to be Jesus disciple you have to hate your family. That's not what it's about. Jesus (who's existence I deny), here was saying that in order to make the change that is required to be his disciple, you have to hate what you are so much, that when you make the change, you'll stick with it.

Do you know what I've never heard of? A man who does "straight" porn, who found Jesus and left the industry. Women find Jesus and leave, men who do gay porn find Jesus and leave, but guys who have sex with girls in movies never find Jesus, why? Those guys don't hate themselves. They may get AIDS, leave the industry, then find Jesus; but they just don't leave.

It's OK though, Jesus doesn't want them. Why? Because those guys love what they do too much to be able to make the change. They will go back to whatever (whoever) it was they were doing before. (if you would like me to continue on with the hatred of yourself/christianity, let me know).

So, why are you quitting?

I'm quitting for the wrong reason. That's why I'll start again. It'll be sometime in April