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Quit completely? On average you've got a pack-a-day nicotine addict who was used to smoking 20 mg. of nicotine a day now receiving 21 mg. of nicotine a day via a patch. What have they completely quit? Amazing!"A new study suggests that nicotine patches alone are helpful in helping people give up smoking ...
They had a group of 567 male and female heavy smokers receive either a real nicotine patch or a placebo patch. They found that nearly 20 per cent of the active patch users quit completely after seven days, compared to around seven per cent in the placebo group.
World No Tobacco Day, like the Great American Smokeout and No Smoking Day, has been bought and paid for by pharmaceutical company contributions to major health non-profit organizations. It doesn't mean this opportunity isn't "real" or "possible" it just means that folks with money want more money by charging you to lengthen how long it takes to recover. Think about it this way... if your brain dopamine reward pathways truly are chemically married to nicotine when does the healing and adjustment period commence?
In helping you decide the above, we invite you to read a March 2003 study by paid pharmaceutical industry consultants that took all the over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine gum and patch (NRT) studies conducted to date, that were capable of being combined and averaged, and concluded that 93% of all patch and gum users in studies relapsed to smoking within six months. Of the 7% still not smoking, an unrevealed percentage remained permanently dependent and hooked upon the nicotine device being tested. Is this really what you want? Is this really the best you can expect? Here's three links that support and present the above assertion.
Below is WhyQuit's press release for the 27th Great American Smokeout. It will be released for publication on November 14 at 5 am EST and we wanted to put it out for those of you who may want to email us with any problems you see or correction that are needed. Feel free to submit it to your local newpapers should you so desire. Also, a big thanks to Marty and Alyson for contributing to this year's GASO release.
Great American Smokeout HijackedWhen the American Cancer Society held the first Smokeout in 1976 it was to make smokers aware of the importance of quitting, to provide a firm date for getting started, and to share literature on how to succeed. Twenty-six Smokouts later it has been transformed from a national quitting day into a day for selling new methods to replace the nicotine within the bodies of those addicted to it.
(PRWEB) November 12 2003--The 27th Great American Smokeout is this Thursday, November 20. If you are a smoker then get ready to be bombarded by a flood of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) commercials. They'll likely imply that quitting cold turkey requires mountains of willpower or Herculean strength. They'll tell you that by buying and using the nicotine gum, patch, lozenge or inhaler that you won't have to be some super hero to quit.
Even while unknowingly inviting the fox (nicotine) into the hen house (filled with nicotine addicts), a 1997 American Cancer Society press release assured the world that its new NRT pharmaceutical industry partnership was toward "efforts to expand its education of products and methods relevant to smoking cessation."
A visit to the American Cancer Society's online "Guide for Quitting Smoking" reveals just how far education expansion has come. Visitors will find 250 lines of type devoted to a growing array of NRT products, followed by one lone vague reference to quitting cold turkey.
Once the staple of quitting and cornerstone of the Society's cessation program, the sale of its trusted name and logo to NRT pharmaceutical interests may have brought it millions of dollars but not without cost.
This week we'll likely again watch as its name and credibility is invoked in a cold turkey bashing campaign designed to cause those addicted to nicotine to shy away from their natural inclinations.
Pharmaceutical industry literature, websites and commercials proclaim that few cold turkey quitters succeed and that the gum, patch or lozenge has been proven to double your chances of quitting for good. But is it true?
Are cold turkey success stories few and far between? Are most successful quitters quitting with the help of the nicotine patch, gum or lozenge?
Not according to Joel Spitzer, a 26 year Chicago quitting programs director and director of education at the internet's oldest cold turkey quitting forum, hosted by WhyQuit.com. "Contrary to the bill of goods being sold to smokers, most quitters are still quitting cold turkey and more importantly the vast majority of successful quitters also quit by going cold turkey," says Spitzer.
Surprisingly, the Society's own research appears to support Spitzer's contentions. Surrounded by almost mandatory NRT use recommendations, page 25 of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Facts & Figures 2003 report contains a table indicating that 81% of current quitters and 91.2% of former successful quitters quit entirely on their own without any resort to quitting aids.
"Save your hard earned money," says Spitzer, "quitting should cost you nothing. Don't trust me but instead do your own survey by talking to family and trusted friends who have successfully have been off of all nicotine products for at least a year. Ask them how they did it."
If 91.2% of successful quitters did not use the nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, hypnosis, acupuncture, Zyban, Wellbutrin, Smoke-Away, magic herbs or any formal quitting program, what are their secrets, why are they not being shared and why constantly undermine the world's most productive means of quitting?
"Most people succeed by coming to grips with the idea that to stay smoke-free they cannot take a puff on a cigarette," says Spitzer. "Try to find one person who once had quit but are now smokers again who didn't take a puff. Finding one such person is going to take you the rest of your life."
There have been a few important study developments since the last Smokeout that quitters might want to contrast with the American Cancer Society's website assertion that "about 5%--16% of people are able to quit smoking for at least 6 months without any medicine to help with withdrawal."
A March 2003 study published in Tobacco Control combined and averaged the results of all seven over-the-counter nicotine patch and gum studies and found that only 7% of participants had not relapsed to smoking within six months. But it might be even worse.
A just released November study, also published in Tobacco Control, found that as many as 7% of all nicotine gum users and 2% of patch users are still using NRT at six-months. When combined, the two studies present a legitimate concern - are any gum users actually breaking free from nicotine while using it?
"Historically, the literature has seldom examined dependence on NRT," asserts the November study whose primary authors were Saul Shiffman of the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. J.R. Hughes of the University of Vermont. "We estimate that 36.6% of current gum users are engaged in persistent use."
Confused yet? Don't feel alone. As the November study suggests, part of the variance stems from the fact that NRT studies defined quitting as quitting smoking but not necessarily breaking nicotine's grip.
If you've already given your share of quick-fix magic cures a try, you may want to consider an invitation to return to the Smokeout's 1976 roots -- a day to quit, actually quitting for a day, and reading some solid nicotine dependency recovery information.
Marty, a London, England ex-smoker of three years recently extended a caring hand across an ocean of doubt and denial in posting a Smokeout invitation to Americans. "One day, one moment, one simple decision was all it took to change my life forever ... one simple click to WhyQuit.com.
Another online quitter of a year and a half, Alyson from Brooklyn, New York, shared Marty's invite in asking that you reflect upon whether "you smoke because you want to or because you have to?" "Try not smoking for a day to find out," encourages Alyson.
According to Spitzer, "our members and the vast majority of long-term ex-smokers have learned what they need to do to successfully stay smoke-free which is simply knowing to never take another puff!"
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About the Author: John R. Polito is a South Carolina nicotine cessation educator and the 1999 founder of www.WhyQuit.com
Smokers Get Cutting Edge Technology to Fight Age Old Habit in the New Year
RESTON, Va., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of smokers attempt to kick their habit cold turkey, or by using nicotine replacement therapies and herbal elixirs, but quickly learn that quitting is not easy. This year, they can count on technology to get them through the rough spots with a handheld computer called QuitKey(TM). The QuitKey approach to quit smoking culminates 20 years of research. It was developed and proven effective with grants from the National Institutes of Health and builds on the enormous success of LifeSign(TM), a first generation smoking cessation computer that uses the same gradual reduction technology. QuitKey first tracks the smoker's habit and then tailors a gradual quit plan that is just right for the smoker....
Comment two:Sure, quitting was hard. But as you know by now, staying off cigarettes forever is every bit as difficult. The good news? It is possible!
First, you need to be aware that physical cravings will continue to pop up from time to time. That's why it pays to keep a stop-smoking Quit Aid like Nicorette®, NicoDerm® CQ® , or Committtm on hand long after you quit.
You'll also need to continue to fight off the temptation of being in certain situations without a cigarette. Don't smoke - not even a puff! Who knows how far that will set you back.
4. Get a stop-smoking Quit Aid
These are some of the Quit Aids the FDA has approved:
- It's an undeniable fact - stop-smoking Quit_Aid products can help you stop smoking and lessen the urge.
- Nicorette®- available over-the-counter
- NicoDerm® CQ®- available over-the-counter
- Committ TM available over-the-counter
- Zyban® - available only by prescription
Other, non-proven therapies include herbal remedies, acupuncture and hypnosis.
Comment 4:5. Be prepared to relapse
Most relapses occur within the first 3 months. But don't be discouraged. Remember, most people try 7 times before they finally quit.
The dreaded relapse
Any ex-smoker knows, quitting is so difficult that many have tried 7 or more times before succeeding. So if you relapse, you're not alone.
But you don't have to feel like a failure. In fact, you can learn from your current quit attempt and more likely stay a non-smoker in the future. And, by keeping a Quit Aids like Nicorette®, NicoDerm® CQ®, or CommitTM handy, you can help fight off the physical cravings
I feel that I am would be being negligent now though if I did not point out a tactic that I have not seen so blatantly used before by the pharmaceutical industry. The idea that you should keep any source of nicotine on hand just in case is absolutely ludicrous. It gives the impression that people have to have some nicotine around in case they have an urge. The fact is ex-smokers don't have physical urges they have psychological . Taking a dose of nicotine to deal with a psychological trigger will basically start the physical process of withdrawal again. If a person does it he or she had better be prepared for three more days of withdrawal. He or she had better have a good supply of his or her quitting aid on hand again to get through the following days for he or she has started up an active need again.We are hostile to nobody. Not even to the tobacco industry or pharmaceutical companies who have different agendas than ours. They exist because they want you to use their products. We exist because you want to stop using their products. We are not here to try to make anyone stop using their products either. We are here to help people quit using nicotine because they have already decided to do so.
Sorry about my above deletion but had to clean up all those crazy codes ....I couldn't help myself, Joel, I just had to respond.Below is my "Letter to the Times Editor"It's Guy & Robert's fault for for egging me on ; )[url=mailto:letters@time.com]Letters to the Editor of TIME Magazine[/url]
To: [url=mailto:letters@time.com]letters@time.com[/url]
Dear Times Editor,
The "Stub Out that Butt" story correctly notes that national cessation rates stalled in 1990 but erroneously lays blame upon cold turkey quitting, which is labeled "least effective." The assertion that nicotine replacement therapy products (NRT) like the nicotine patch or gum doubles the chance of success is, simply, hogwash!
The American Cancer Society's 2003 Cancer Facts and Figures report indicates that 91.2% of all successful long-term quitters quit entirely on their own. A March 2003 study by NRT industry consultants combined all over-the-counter NRT research and found that 93% of NRT users had relapsed to smoking within six months.
If cold turkey's six-month historical rate of 10% still holds true, then it is actually more effective than NRT.
John R. Polito
Nicotine Cessation Instructor
Address/Phone
[url=mailto:john@whyquit.com]john@whyquit.com[/url]
References:
1. American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2003 (PDF Document) , see Table http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAF ... ecured.pdf
2. Hughes, JR, Shiffman, S, et al., A meta-analysis of the efficacy of over-the-counter nicotine replacement , http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/12/1/21, Tobacco Control, March 2003;12:21-27.
3. Polito, JR. , Does the Over-the-counter Nicotine Patch Really Double Your Chances of Quitting? http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_OTCPatch.html, WhyQuit, April 2002.
4. Polito, JR, Is cold turkey quitting more productive and effective than NRT? http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Cold_Turkey.html, WhyQuit, July 2003.
From: Joel | Sent: 6/9/2003 7:14 AM |
I am attaching a link here to a quick post put up by Pelenope today: In it Pennie talks about her experience with a real world support group she was in. John responded in that thread about a study that was being done in Malta evaluating the effectiveness of their smoking cessation programs. Here is the link John put up to that study: http://home.um.edu.mt/med-surg/mmj/15_01_7.pdf There are many that would be shocked by the conclusions drawn from the study. For what the study showed was that the six month cessation rate for the groups being examined was just about 10%. Of those who quit, eight of the ten went cold turkey. I don't know what the usage status was of the two using NRT, meaning, were they still using NRT at the six month mark or not? Giving them the benefit of the doubt that they had gotten off the NRT, it would still mean that 80% of the success stories were cold turkey quitters. So what was the conclusions of the study investigators on how to improve their programs? Well they thought that one of the problems with the approach being used was that participants were given a choice of going cold turkey or of using pharmacotherapies such as NRT. They concluded that the way to improve the program was to make NRT the cornerstone of future programs. The original subject of this letter, Barbara was in a clinic I ran back in 1977. Again, she was in a group of people most of whom had successfully quit smoking. She did not. She was in another group at one time where she also had not quit smoking--but then again, neither did any of the people in her group. So where would she turn if she ever somehow decided that maybe she should quit again? I suspect she would have gone back to her other program. Its amazing what kind of conclusions people can draw from different situations. Everyone here should know that there are other schools of thoughts and options out there for how to attempt to quit smoking. But always try to use the simplest level of logic when analyzing the problem at hand here. The problem is everyone here is addicted to a drug--nicotine. The way most people here got addicted to nicotine is by inhaling burning tobacco, usually via cigarettes. Inhaling burning tobacco is dangerous and basically downright deadly. The only way to eradicate the risks of inhaling burning tobacco is to not inhale burning tobacco. Once a person becomes nicotine free the physical need to inhale burning tobacco or to take in nicotine via any route of administration to stave off nicotine withdrawal will be permanently over. Your body will never need nicotine again as long as you never take nicotine from any NRT source and as long as you always remember when it comes to burning tobacco products that to stay smoke free you must never take another puff. Joel |