By
Augie Colantuono
There are four good reasons
why one should quit smoking, said Robert
Shubinski, a doctor who specializes in treating patients
who want to quit smoking:
- the risk of a heart attack is decreased
by 50 percent within 24 hours of quitting
- the risk of having a stroke or a brain
aneurysm goes down by 30 percent
- the risk of lung cancer is decreased
by 80 to 90 percent after 15 years of abstinence from
cigarettes
- within three months of quitting, the smoker’s
cough disappears in most people
Eighty percent of smokers attempt to quite smoking one or
more times during the course of their smoking habit, while
95 percent of successful quitters have tried to quite three
to four times prior to a successful stop, said Dr. Shubinski.
“Smokers with prior attempts to quit who try to quit
again have learned from their mistakes and a large percent
of these people will never smoke again,” he said.
Why start smoking
There are many reasons why people start smoking, none of
them good ones though, said Dr. Shubinski.
“Some people start to alleviate stress, some because
of peer pressure or the kids just want to appear mature,”
he said.
There are different methods used when it comes to quitting
smoking. One way is to just quit “cold turkey,”
according the Dr. Shubinski.
“This is the preferred method used by so-called self
changers, people who quit on their own and without any nicotine
replacement by a patch or something like that,” he
said. “Strong motivational factors are believed to
play the foremost role in successful quitting using this
method.”
Another method used to stop smoking is the transdermal nicotine
patches. Which is an easer approach, Dr. Shubinski said.
“The nicotine patch is usually well tolerated, and
provides constant, steady nicotine blood levels throughout
the day and night when worn. They are quite simple to use,
they help prevent weight gain, cravings, and nicotine withdrawal
symptoms and are socially acceptable,” he said.
Jason Bork, a senior education major, says he started smoking
when he was 15. He smokes because he says it relaxes him.
Bork has never tried to stop smoking but says he will some
day.
“I’ll probably stop when somebody I know gets
sick,” he said.
If he were to try and stop smoking, he say he knows it will
be a tough battle.
“The hardest thing to give up will be the physical
addiction, just the habit of putting it in your mouth,”
Bork said.
For more information on quitting smoking, log onto Dr. Shubinski’s
Web site at http://unr.edu/homepage/shubinsk/smoke.html.
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