STOPPING SMOKING
The US Surgeon General has said, "Smoking cessation
(stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that
smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their
lives."
Mark Twain said,
"Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a thousand times."
Maybe you’ve tried
quitting before, too? If you’re reading this, we can assume your
past efforts haven’t been successful. Perhaps you’re looking to try
Hypnosis after seeing Matt Damon on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
He went for Hypnosis in L.A. to treat his 2-pack-a-day cigarette
habit, which he’d had since his teens. He successfully stopped and
said he’d wished he’d tried the treatment years before.
Hypnosis is a classic,
and highly successful way to stop smoking. Usually, treatment
consists of only a few sessions. Clients may wish, as Matt Damon
does, to get a "booster" session once or twice a year for
maintenance, although it isn’t required. With a qualified
Hypnotist, there are often no withdrawal symptoms. You simply cease
thinking or caring about cigarettes. Or you substitute another
behavior or substance (such as water) for the cigarettes. With
Hypnosis, you learn to refocus your attention away from smoking to
other, healthier, habits.
DON'T GO IT ALONE!
CALL OR E-MAIL US FOR AN APPOINTMENT. IT IS SAFE, EASY AND
ENJOYABLE.
1-212-889-5362 SNF@NewBehaviorKey.com
So what is Hypnosis? Do
you lose control when you’re hypnotized? Is it dangerous? What if
you think you can’t be hypnotized? Is it possible that you can be
hypnotized and never wake up?
Let’s talk about what
this natural tool called Hypnosis is.
Hypnosis is a totally
natural state that we all move in and out of all the time. You have
been self-hypnotized thousands of times in your life. Hypnosis, or
trance, is a state you get in when you’re body is doing one thing,
but your mind is off somewhere else. Have you ever been so absorbed
in a book or movie or so concentrated on a task that you lost track
of time? Or forgot where you were for the moment? You were in a
trance.
Have you ever daydreamed?
And then snapped out of the daydream to find you’d not heard
someone speaking to you? You were in a trance.
Were you ever driving
home going over things in your mind – perhaps a fight you’d had
with someone, or something that happened at the office, or
something you were planning to do – and found yourself pulling into
your driveway without realizing consciously how you’d gotten there?
You were in a trance. And notice how your subconscious mind got you
home anyway – safe and sound.
Being in a trance is like
sitting in front of the TV – you decide to close your eyes, even
though you’re still listening to the show. The phone rings and you
think, "I don’t have to respond – someone else will get it or
they’ll leave a message" and you just keep sitting there, lost in
your thoughts and the feeling of being sooo… relaaxed…. If you were
required to respond, you would easily snap out of it and do
whatever you had to. But at that moment, you don’t have to do
anything – and so you just stay in your "other" world. Here, but
not here. That’s a trance. Pretty nice state to be in, yes?
When you’re in that
relaxed state, you are more open to suggestions, and it is in that
state that you can allow positive changes more easily and
effortlessly. It does not require will power. The battle within you
disappears and your subconscious mind easily accepts the new
choices you wish to make – like taking a glass of water instead of
a cigarette. Or…whatever positive change you can come up with. The
important point here is to exchange smoking for something else.
That way you are assured you won’t exchange it for another bad
habit – like overeating. With a qualified Hypnotist, clients do not
normally gain weight when they stop smoking.
Being hypnotized is a
choice each person makes, and if someone were to be completely
resistant in their minds to allowing themselves to relax, it
wouldn’t happen. The only form of Hypnosis that exists is
Self-Hypnosis. Your Hypnotist is just your guide, guiding you into
a trance. But you either allow it or disallow it. The choice is
yours. At NO point are you ever out of control.
Because Hypnosis is a
totally naturally occurring state, it is safe. If a person so
enjoyed being in trance that they didn’t want to come out of it,
the worst that could happen is that they’d go to sleep and
naturally awaken from sleep when they were ready.
Trance is a natural way
to focus within – to draw forth your own inner strengths and
resources, to empower yourself to become the person you would like
to be. To empower yourself to make the changes in behavior you wish
to make. To stop smoking. And find that you don’t need the crutch
after all!
But the key word here is
"the changes you wish to make". The choice to stop smoking must be
yours if you wish to be truly successful in the long term. Hypnosis
can help you achieve what you wish to achieve, it can take away
cravings, it can refocus your thoughts to other more positive
habits, it can help you feel good about yourself, it can help you
take back your power, but it cannot force you to do anything you do
not wish to do. You, and you alone, must decide you want to stop
smoking. Although they are good incentives, don’t do it for your
spouse, don’t do it for your friends, don’t do it for your
children, DO IT FOR YOURSELF!
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO IT
ALONE!
CALL OR E-MAIL US FOR AN APPOINTMENT. IT IS SAFE, EASY AND
ENJOYABLE.
1-212-889-5362 SNF@NewBehaviorKey.com
Why Quit?
(The following is excerpted and reprinted from the
site http://www.cancer.org)
Your Health
Health concerns usually top the list of reasons people
give for stopping smoking. Nearly everyone knows that smoking can
cause lung cancer, but few people realize it is also a risk factor
for many other kinds of cancer as well, including cancer of the
mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), esophagus, bladder,
kidney, pancreas, liver, cervix, stomach, colon and rectum and some
leukemias.
Smoking increases the
risk of lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
These progressive lung diseases – grouped under the term COPD
(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) – are usually diagnosed in
smokers in their 60s and 70s. COPD causes chronic illness and
disability and is eventually fatal.
Smokers are twice as
likely to die from heart attacks as are nonsmokers. And smoking is
a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, a narrowing of
the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm
muscles.
Smoking also causes
premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, bad smelling clothes
and hair, and yellow fingernails.
For women, there are
unique risks. Women over 35 who smoke and use "the pill" (oral
contraceptives) are in a high-risk group for heart attack, stroke
and blood clots of the legs. Women who smoke are more likely to
have a miscarriage or a lower birth-weight baby.
Based on data collected
from 1995 to 1999, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
recently estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2
years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of
smoking.
No matter what y our age
or how long you’ve smoked, quitting will help you live
longer.
Ex-smokers also enjoy a
higher quality of life with fewer illnesses from cold and flu
viruses, better self-reported health status, and reduced rates of
bronchitis and pneumonia.
For decades, the Surgeon
General has reported the health risks associated with smoking.
Regardless of your age or smoking history, there are advantages to
quitting smoking. Benefits apply whether you are healthy or you
already have smoking-related diseases. In 1990, the Surgeon General
concluded:
Quitting smoking has
major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages.
Benefits apply to people with and without smoking-related
disease.
Former smokers live
longer than continuing smokers. For example, people who quit
smoking before age 50 have one-half the risk of dying in the next
15 years compared with continuing smokers.
Stopping smoking
decreases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack,
stroke and chronic lung disease.
Women who stop smoking
before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy
reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby to that of
women who never smoked.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO IT
ALONE?
CALL OR E-MAIL US FOR AN APPOINTMENT. IT IS SAFE, EASY AND
ENJOYABLE.
1-212-889-5362 SNF@NewBehaviorKey.com
When Smokers Stop
– What Are the Benefits Over Time?
20 minutes after stopping: Your blood
pressure drops to a level close to that before the last cigarette.
The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1998, pp. 39, 202)
8 hours after
stopping: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to
normal.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1988, p.202)
24 hours after
stopping: Your chance of a heart attack decreases.
(US Surgeon General’s Report 1988, p. 202)
2 weeks to 3
months after stopping: Your circulation improves and your
lung function increases up to 30%.
(US Surgeon General’s Report 1990, pp. 193,194,196, 285,
323)
1 to 9 months
after stopping: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and
shortness of breath decrease: cilia (tiny hair-like structures that
move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs,
increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce
infection.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. 304,307,319,322)
1 year after stopping: The excess risk of coronary
heart disease if half that of a smoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p. vi)
5 years after stopping: Your stroke risk is
reduced to that of a nonsmoker. 5-15 years after stopping.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p.79)
10 years after stopping: The lung cancer death
rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of
cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and
pancreas decrease.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p. 110,147,152,159,172)
15 years after stopping: The risk of coronary
heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p.79)
Visible and Immediate Rewards of Stopping
Stopping helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on your
appearance, including:
Kicking the tobacco habit
also offers benefits that you’ll notice immediately, and some that
will develop gradually in the first few weeks. These rewards can
improve your day-to-day life substantially:
Food tastes
better
Sense of smell returns
to normal
Ordinary activities no
longer leave you out of breath (climbing stairs, light housework,
etc.)
The prospect of better
health is a major reason for quitting, but there are others as
well. Smoking is expensive. The economic costs of smoking are
estimated to be about $3,391 per smoker per year. Do you really
want to continue burning up your money with nothing to show for it
except possible health problems?
Cost
Smoking is expensive. It isn’t hard to figure out how much you
spend on smoking: multiply how much money you spend on tobacco
every day by 365 (days per year). The amount may surprise you. Now
multiply that by the number of years you have been using tobacco
and that amount will probably astound you.
Multiply the cost per
year by 10 (for the upcoming 10 years) and ask yourself what you
would rather do with that much money.
And this doesn’t include
the higher costs for health and life insurance, as well as the
possible health care costs due to tobacco-related
conditions.
Social
Acceptance
Smoking is less socially acceptable now than it was in the past.
While decisions may not be based entirely on social acceptance,
most workplaces have some type of smoking restrictions. Some
employers prefer to hire nonsmokers.
Studies show smoking
employees cost businesses more to employ because they are "out
sick" more frequently. Employees who are ill more often than others
can raise an employer’s need for expensive temporary replacement
workers. They can increase insurance costs both for other employees
and for the employer, who typically pays part of the workers’
insurance premiums. Smokers in a building also typically increase
the maintenance costs of keeping odors at an acceptable level,
since residue from cigarette smoke clings to carpets, drapes and
other fabrics.
Landlords, also, may
choose not to rent to smokers since maintenance costs and insurance
rates may rise when smokers occupy buildings.
Friends may ask you not
to smoke in their houses or cars. Public buildings, concerts and
even sporting events are largely smoke-free. And more and more
communities are restricting smoking in all public places, including
restaurants and bars. Like it or not, finding a place to smoke can
be a hassle.
Smokers may find their
opportunities for dating or romantic involvement, including
marriage, are largely limited to only other smokers, who make up
only about 1/4th of the population.
Health of
Others
Smoking not only harms your health, but the health of those around
you. Exposure to secondhand smoke (also called environmental
tobacco smoke or passive smoking) includes exhaled smoke as well as
smoke from burning cigarettes.
Studies have shown that
secondhand smoke causes thousands of deaths each year from lung
cancer and heart disease in healthy nonsmokers.
Smoking by mothers is
linked to a higher risk of their babies developing asthma in
childhood, especially if the mothers smokes while pregnant. It is
also associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and
low-birth weight infants. Babies and children raised in a household
where there is smoking have more ear infections, colds, bronchitis
and other respiratory problems than children from nonsmoking
families. Secondhand smoke can also cause eye irritation,
headaches, nausea and dizziness.
Setting an
Example
If you have children, you want to set a good example for them. When
asked, nearly all smokers say they don’t want their children to
smoke, but children whose parents smoke are more likely to start
smoking themselves. You can become a good role model for them by
quitting now.
CALL OR E-MAIL US FOR AN APPOINTMENT. IT IS SAFE, EASY AND
ENJOYABLE.
1-212-889-5362 SNF@NewBehaviorKey.com
Other Available
Tools to Stop Smoking
Nicotine Replacement Therapy:
Nicotine Patches (transdermal nicotine systems):
Patches provide a measured dose of nicotine through the skin. As
the nicotine doses are lowered by switching patches over a course
of weeks, the tobacco user is weaned off nicotine. Patches can be
purchased without a prescription. Several types and different
strengths are available. Package inserts describe how to use the
product as well as special considerations and possible side
effects.
Some possible side
effects of nicotine replacement include:
Nicotine gum (nicotine
polacrilex): Nicotine gum is a fast-acting form of replacement that
acts through the mucous membrane of the mouth. It can be bought
over-the-counter without a prescription. It comes in 2 mg and 4 mg
strengths.
Some possible side
effects of the gum:
Bad taste
Throat
irritation
Mouth
ulcers
Hiccups
Nausea
Jaw
discomfort
Racing
heartbeat
Symptoms related to the
stomach and jaw are usually caused by improper use of the gum, such
as swallowing nicotine or chewing too rapidly.
Long-term dependence is
one possible disadvantage of nicotine gum. In fact, research has
shown that 15% to 20% of gum users who successfully quit smoking
continue using the gum for a year or longer.
Nicotine
inhalers: Introduced in 1998, inhalers are available only
by prescription. The nicotine inhaler is a plastic tube with a
nicotine cartridge inside.
The most common side
effects, especially when first using the inhaler, include:
Coughing
Throat
irritation
Upset
stomach
Nicotine
lozenges: These are the newest form of NRT on the market.
After undergoing the appropriate testing, the FDA recently approved
the first nicotine-containing lozenge as an over-the-counter aid in
smoking cessation.
Possible side-effects of
the nicotine lozenge include:
*Please note that all
Nicotine Replacement Therapies assume the smoker needs a continued,
if ever decreasing, amount of nicotine. It assumes the quitter is
not able to discontinue a craving for nicotine except slowly. In
essence, it supports the feeling of dependence the smoker feels for
nicotine. (Susan Gayle’s notation)
Substances Not Reviewed
or Approved by the FDA
Tobacco
lozenges: Lozenges containing tobacco, such as Ariva TM,
are being marketed as an alternative way for smokers to get
nicotine in places where smoking is not permitted, rather than as a
tobacco cessation aid. The FDA has ruled that these are a type of
smokeless tobacco, not a smoking cessation aid; therefore, the FDA
does not have authority over them. There is no evidence that these
lozenges can help a person quit smoking.
Nicotine
lollipops and lip balms: In the past, some pharmacies
throughout the United States made a product called the "nicotine
lollipop". These lollipops often contained a product called
nicotine salicylate with a sugar sweetener. Nicotine salicylate is
not approved for pharmacy use by the FDA. In April, 2002, the FDA
warned 3 pharmacies to stop selling nicotine lollipops and lip balm
on the Internet and called the products "illegal". The FDA also
said "the candy-like products present a risk of accidental use by
children".
Quitlines –
Telephone-based Help to Stop Smoking
More than 30 states run
some type of free telephone "Quitline", which links callers with
trained counselors. These specialists help plan a stop method that
fits each person’s unique pattern of tobacco use. People who use
telephone counseling stop tobacco use at twice the rate of those
who don’t get this type of help. With guidance from a counselor,
quitters can avoid common mistakes that may hurt a stop
attempt.
Tobacco users
can get help finding a Quitline in their area by calling the ACS at
1-800-ACS-2345.
Support of Family
and Friends
Many former smokers say a support network of family and friends was
very important during their stop attempt. Other people who may
offer support and encouragement are coworkers, your family doctor,
your Hypnotist, and members of support groups for quitters. You can
check with your employer, health insurance company, or local
hospital to find support groups.
Where Can I Go
for Help?
You don't need to go it alone. We are here to partner with
you and help you empower yourself and Stop Smoking.
Call us at 1-212-889-5362 or E-mail us at SNF@NewBehaviorInstitute.com
Other
organizations that offer information on stopping smoking:
American Cancer Society
1-800-ACS-2345
Internet address: www.cancer.org
American Heart
Association
1-800-242-1793 (call center) or 800-242-2793
Internet address: www.amhrt.org
American Lung
Association
1-800-586-4872 or 212-315-8700
Internet address: www.lungusa.org
National Cancer
Institute
Cancer Information Service
1-800-4-CANCER or 800-422-6237
Internet address: www.cancer.gov
Office on Smoking &
Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1-770-448-5705
Internet address: www.cdc.gov/tobacco
Nicotine Anonymous
1-877-TRY-NICA (1-877-879-6422)
Internet address: www.nicotine-anonymous.org
Smokefree.gov
(Online materials, including info on state Quitlines)
Internet address: www.smokefree.gov
References
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2003.
Atlanta, GA. 2003.
American Cancer Society.
Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts and Figures 2003.
Atlanta, GA. 2003
Agency for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). Annual smoking-attributable
mortality, years of potential life lost, and economic costs –
United States, 1995-1999. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 2002;51 300-303.
Available online at www.cdc.gov/mmwr//preview/mmwrhtml/mm5114a2.htm.
Accessed October 2003.
Centers for Disease
Control. Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs
– August 1999. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Center for Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and
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Glantz, Stanton. Tobacco
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Hurt RD, Sachs DPL, Glover ED et al. A comparison of
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Engl J Med, October 23, 1997; 337:17.
Joad JP. Smoking and
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Peto R, Darby S, Deo H,
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Tonnesen P et al. Two and
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US Department of Health
& Human Services. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation: A
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Prevention (CDC), Office on Smoking and Health. 1990. Available
online at http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/NN/B/B/C/T/.
Accessed October 2003.
US Department of Health
& Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine
Addiction: A Report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease
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Accessed October 2003.
US Department of Health
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Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office on Smoking and Health.
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Accessed November 2003.
US Department of
Health
New Behavior Institute
