to be a regular smoker like me to feel the negative effects of smoking. Even one puff can cause you to get sick more often, says Patricia Denning, physician and chief of medical staff at the Watkins Memorial Health Center. Upper respiratory infections are more common among smokers because the chemicals in cigarettes disable your cilia cells, or the hair-like projections that act as your body's garbage collectors. Cilia cells collect debris, such as bacteria and allergens, pass it up to your mucus membranes, and then move it toward the trachea where it's all coughed up.
Denning says even one cigarette can inhibit the process because when the cilia cells are out of commission, all the debris you inhale is instead transmitted to your lungs. The warm, moist environment of your lungs causes the bacteria to multiply, creating respiratory infections and increasing your sick time. Denning also says that light smoking can cause heart attacks and strokes later in life because nicotine narrows your arteries.
The popular misconception that light or casual smoking poses less health risks was discredited in a study published in the September 2005 issue of Tobacco Control, by Norwegian researchers Kjell Bjartveit and Aaje Tverdal. In their study, Bjartveit and Tverdal found that light smokers—those who smoked only one to four cigarettes per day—had a more than 50 percent increase of early death from any cause. The researchers followed the light smoking habits and the health of more than 43,000 adults in Norway for more than 30 years. More specifically, they discovered that light smoking nearly triples the risk of death from heart disease or lung cancer. And what shocked me the most was that the risk of lung cancer was significantly greater for women who were light smokers, with a five times increased risk of getting the disease compared to a three times increase for men.
I got my diploma—I quit!
Over at the Replay Lounge, Jayme Walden says that she tries to stay healthy and considers smoking her one vice. Walden, Shawnee senior, says she plans to quit when she graduates. She's been smoking for the past three years and says that she's always considered it a "college thing." Next year will be different because she won't be around roommates who smoke and she won't be in Lawrence, which she says caters to smoking and drinking. On average, Walden says that she smokes about 10 cigarettes per week, and although she says she likes to think that she enjoys it, she really does want to quit.
I'd like to be a non-smoker after I graduate, but I don't think I can quit as easily as passing through the Campanile and walking down the hill. You need to start trying to quit at least a couple months in advance if you want to be a non-smoking graduate, says Ken Sarber, an administrative professional in the Wellness
Resource at Watkins Memorial Health Center. Sarber says that once smoking becomes routine in college, it's hard to break. He advises that students who want to quit post-graduation should start in a program about two months ahead of time. The habits you create when you first start smoking carry through the rest of your addiction, says Sarber, and ultimately prevent you from quitting the first time.
For most smokers, including myself, smoking and drinking go hand-in-hand. Sarber says that this habit can be the most difficult one to break because the complementary taste of alcohol and tobacco are naturally habit-forming. People who try to quit often feel a void because they've become so used to that hand-to-mouth relationship.To quit successfully, Sarber advises joining a cessation program, like the one offered at Watkins, and create a strong support system from your family and friends. Otherwise, it can take a few attempts.
The first step to quit is to recognize why you started smoking and what triggers your urge to light up. For instance, do you crave a cigarette when you're at the bar, like me, or is it when you're stuck in the car driving long distances? After recognizing what sets you off, Sarber says you need to start a delaying process. During the first week, wait half an hour to smoke every time you physically reach for a cigarette. Sarber says that people don't realize it usually only takes 10 to 15 minutes for cravings to pass, so by the time you allow yourself to light up, you might not really want to anymore. If the first week was no problem for you, during the second week you can extend the delay to an hour.
"The average person tries six times to quit smoking on their own before they're either successful, or before they give up and just continue to smoke for life." Sarber says.
You can also stop from smoking anywhere that's part of your old routine. For instance, you could ask your friends to support you by not smoking with you or giving you any cigarettes, and hang out with the non-smokers instead when others head outside. If you've made it to the third week without any serious problems, your cravings aren't as severe, and you're prepared to throw all your smoking-related paraphernalia away—then you're ready to call it quits.
As a light smoker, it's not a physical addiction that will make it hard to quit, but letting go of the relaxing relationship I've developed with cigarettes. Sarber advises that light smokers replace the urge to smoke with a healthier, positive reinforcement. So when I'm jonesing for a cigarette during the relaxing hiatus in the morning before the day's chaos begins, I just need to take a breath and find something else to distract me. I'm not sure what that will be yet, but now that I've addressed my addiction, I'm hopeful that I can break up with my faithful but fatal confidante. JP
If you think you might be addicted and you'd like to quit, here are some programs that can help you out.
Kan-u-quit, smoking cessation program at the Wellness Resource Center at Watkins Health Center. For more information call them at (785) 864-9570.
Ex. a website by the American Legacy Foundation offering free quit plans designed by medical experts. Visit their site at www.becomeenex.org.
SmokeFree.gov offers online guides and a toll-free, national hotline to assist in your quitting efforts. Check out their website or call them at 1-800-QUITNOW.
January 29, 2009
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