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FOR IMMEDIATE FREE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2006 Charleston, South Carolina |
Sadly, the average smoker knows almost nothing about smoking and even less about quitting. Continuing ignorance will likely cost them a massive chunk of life. Loved ones can lead them to wisdom but cannot make them drink.
How much does your smoking friend or loved one know about the cause of death that has approximately a 50% chance of appearing on their death certificate - smoking? This article offers an opportunity to find out. Below is one carcinogen question followed by ten quitting questions.
Carcinogen Quiz
According to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company research, cigarettes contain 81 carcinogens with the potential to cause cancer in humans. Ask your smoking friend or loved one to name just 1 of the 81 chemicals. The vast majority of smokers will be unable to do so. Hopefully it will help open their mind to the fact that they know very little about smoking.
- Acetaldehyde
- Acetamide
- Acrylamide
- Acrylonitrile
- 2-Amino-3,4-dimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ)
- 3-Amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido [4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1)
- 2-Amino-l-methyl-6-phenyl-1H-imidazo [4,5-b]pyridine (PhlP)
- 2-Amino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole (Glu-P-1)
- 3-Amino-l-methyl-5H-pyrido {4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-2)
- 2-Amino-3-methyl-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (MeAaC)
- 2-Amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AaC)
- 4-Aminobiphenyl
- 2-Aminodipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole (Glu-P-2)
- 0-Anisidine
- Arsenic
- Benz[a]anthracene
- Benzene
- Benzo[a]pyrene
- Benzo[b]fluoranthene
- Benzo[j]fluoranthene
- Benzo[k]fluoranthene
- Benzo[b]furan
- Beryllium
- 1,3-Butadiene
- Cadmium
- Catechol (1,2-benzenediol)
- p-Chloroaniline
- Chloroform
- Chromium
- Cobalt
- p,p'-DDT
- Dibenz[a,h]acridine
- Dibenz[a,j]acridine
- Dibenz(a,h)anthracene
- 7H-Dibenzo[c,g]carbazole
- Dibenzo(a,e)pyrene
- Dibenzo(a,i)pyrene
- Dibenzo(a,h)pyrene
- Dibenzo(a,i)pyrene
- Dibenzo(a,l)pyrene
- 3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid (caffeic acid)
- Epichlorhydrin
- Ethylbenzene
- Ethylene oxide
- Formaldehyde
- Furan
- Glycidol
- Heptachlor
- Hydrazine
- Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene
- IQ 92-Amino-3-methyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline)
- Isoprene
- Lead
- 5-Methyl-chrysene
- 2-Naphthylamine
- Nitrobenzene
- Nitrogen mustard
- Nitromethane
- 2-Nitropropane
- N-Nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA)
- N-Nitrosodi-n-propylamine (NDPA)
- N-Nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA)
- N-Nitrosodiethylamine (DEN)
- N-Nitrosodimethylamine (DMN)
- N-Nitrosoethylmethylamine (NEMA, MEN)
- 4-(N-Nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridinyl)-1-butanone (NNK)
- N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN)
- N-Nitrosopiperidine (NPIP, NPP)
- N-Nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR, NPY)
- Polonium-210 (Radon 222)
- Propylene oxide
- Safrole
- Styrene
- Tetrachloroethylene
- o-Toluidine (2-methylaniline)
- Trichloroethylene
- Urethane (carbamic acid, ethyl ester)
- Vinyl acetate
- Vinyl chloride
- 4-Vinylcyclohexene
- 2,6-Xylidine (2,6-dimethylaniline)
Cigarettes are the only product that when used as directed kills half of all loyal customers, each 13 to 14 years early. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, evidence now proves that cigarette smoking causes cancers of the lung, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus (squamous-cell carcinoma), pancreas, urinary bladder, renal pelvis, nasal cavities, sinuses, oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), stomach, liver, kidney (renal-cell carcinoma), uterine cervix and myeloid leukemia.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer in the world, with the total number of cases now estimated to be 1.2 million annually and growing. Nearly 90% of all lung cancer cases are attributable to cigarette smoking. The U.S. Surgeon General reports that compared to nonsmokers, men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer and women who smoke are about 13 times more likely.
The IARC asserts that the "duration of smoking is the strongest determinant of lung cancer in smokers. Hence, the earlier the age of starting and the longer the continuation of smoking in adulthood, the greater the risk. Risk of lung cancer also increases in proportion to the numbers of cigarettes smoked."
Quitting Quiz
Knowledge truly is power in regard to successful long-term smoking cessation. Your smoker may have read the instructions that came with the nicotine patch, gum or lozenge or listened to a hypnotist but when did they read the instructions that came with their addiction? Probably never. How much do they actually know about nicotine dependency or the process associated with arresting their dependency?
The following questions will hopefully alert them to the fact that they have some learning to do:
- When quitting, how long does it take for the amount of nicotine in the bloodstream to be reduced by half (nicotine's half-life)? Answer: Approximately 2 hours.
- What is the maximum duration of a subconsciously triggered crave episode when quitting? Answer: Less than 3 minutes but serious cessation time distortion can make the minutes feel like hours. Be sure and keep a watch or clock handy to maintain perspective.
- What is the chemical relationship between caffeine and nicotine? Answer: Nicotine somehow doubles the rate by which the body depletes caffeine. Heavy caffeine users may want to consider cutting their intake by approximately half in order to avoid adding unnecessary withdrawal anxieties to an already challenging process.
- What percentage of first time over-the-counter nicotine patch and gum users succeed in quitting smoking for at least six months? Answer: Just 7%. Yes, a 93% smoking relapse rate. The pharmaceutical industry keeps many extremely critical facts hidden from smokers.
What percentage of second-time nicotine patch users succeed in quitting for at least six months? Near zero percent. Unlike with abrupt nicotine cessation or cold turkey quitting, where the odds of success actually increase with each attempt, the odds of success during any second or subsequent nicotine patch attempt actually decline. According to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Facts and Figures 2003 report, 91.4% of all successful quitters quit entirely on their own.
- Why can many smokers skip breakfast and/or lunch and yet never feel true hunger pains? Answer: Each puff of nicotine acts as their spoon, releasing adrenaline which in turn pumps stored fats and sugars into their bloodstream. One of the hardest lessons when quitting is learning to again eat regularly in order to properly fuel the body. Skipping meals can result in needless hunger related anxieties and low blood sugar type symptoms, including mind fog or an inability to concentrate.
- How long does it take to rid the body of all nicotine and reach peak withdrawal? Answer: A maximum of 72 hours. It is then, if not earlier, that the underlying current of anxieties will begin gradually easing off.
- What happens if a quitter takes just one puff of nicotine after reaching peak withdrawal? Answer: They experience relapse and must do the most challenging portion of recovery - nicotine withdrawal - all over again. Amazingly few have the anxiety endurance ability to do back-to-back withdrawals and almost all fail.
- State the law of addiction? Answer: "Administration of a drug to an addict will cause reestablishment of chemical dependence upon the addictive substance, at the old level of use or greater." Nicotine dependency recovery is a process where being 99% successful results in 100% defeat. It truly is an all or nothing proposition. Our simple restatement of the law of addiction is, just one day at a time, Never Take Another Puff!
- True or false - smoking nicotine relieves stress. False. It simply relieves its own absence. Nicotine is an alkaloid and stress an acid-producing event capable of quickly neutralizing the body's nicotine reserves. As smokers, we added early withdrawal to every stressful event. Those navigating recovery soon discover an amazing sense of calm during crisis.
Readers are invited to visit WhyQuit.com, a free forum and the source of this article, where you will discover a vast depository of cessation motivation, education and support resources.
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