Welcome to Become An EX
Some people are reluctant to make a decision to stop smoking for good. It seems so permanent. It may be difficult to imagine ‘forever’ without a cigarette. You are not alone in this, others feel the same way. But many of the things that people do accomplish don’t require 100% motivation from the start. Often people try to make a temporary change, learn they can make that change then go for longer than they expected.
If you are motivated to stop smoking at 50% + 1%, you can tip the scale towards success. Use a positive attitude to fuel your decision and begin to stop. You might try thoughts like these: “I’m just not smoking today, and I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes”; “I’m choosing not to smoke, no one is making me quit”; “I’m doing an experiment to see how my life feels different without smoking.”; “I always have the freedom to go back smoking if I decide to, but now I don’t have any freedom because the addiction compels me to have to smoke”; “I’m not giving up something, I’m gaining my health (or money or energy or any other reason that you might want to stop smoking” or “I am getting rid of something I don’t want around for now”).
Remember we can make our attitude work for us. Don’t let thoughts of an unknown future keep you from doing something healthy today. Trying doesn’t take 100% commitment; it just takes a decision to try.
Once you have stopped smoking, it is important to stay an Ex-Smoker. There is not any one way to remain smoke-free and you'll hear all kinds of tips from former smokers. Some of these tips will be helpful and others will not and you have permission to take what works for you and leave the rest. There are many support websites available online and you can browse them at your leisure. We recommend www.BecomeanEx.org but you may find others that are useful to you.
Not everyone or everything is going to be equally supportive of your efforts. YOU will have to be the final judge on what is helpful to you and what is not helpful to you. Once you know what does help, you can kindly but assertively inform any not-so-helpful friends or family members that you would appreciate their assistance, and let them know specific ways in which they can be helpful. You might want to participate in the BecomeanEX community and help others through the early challenges of not smoking.
Be diligent when you are around other people who smoke or when you are drinking alcohol. These situations can lead to relapse even after a long time of not smoking. Don’t heed the thought, “I can have just one’. Having one cigarette can set off a cascade of reactions in your brain that can bring you back to daily smoking. Once you stop smoking, enjoy your health, enjoy your freedom, and stay tobacco free. Every day, week or month that you remain smoke-free are very important so take it in time increments that make sense to you.
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Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
Do you ever feel like nothing works?
You’ve tried the patch –
and that didn’t work.
You tried the gum -
and that didn’t work.
You tried the lozenge -
and that didn’t work.
You even tried Chantix –
and that didn’t work.
It can be very discouraging when nothing seems to work for you.
Well, research is showing that a combination of medications - like the patch AND the lozenge work better than either medication alone. Combinations are proving to be very successful with people who feel that they have tried everything.
Cigarettes are the best nicotine delivery device ever invented, faster than shooting it IV. They deliver nicotine to the brain much more quickly and efficiently than any of the nicotine replacement medications. One medication alone may not be enough to fully treat withdrawal and craving for a cigarette. But, using medications such as the nicotine patch, bupropion (Zyban), or varenicline (Chantix) in combination with a ‘short acting’ nicotine replacement like the nicotine gum, nicotine lozenge, nicotine nasal spray, or nicotine inhaler –can provide the extra coverage you may need for those more difficult times – like when you first wake-up, talking on the phone, stressed, or bored.
Many people are pleasantly surprised that when they find the right medication combination – they can be reasonably comfortable when they stop smoking. So, if you think you’ve tried everything – consider a combination of medications. You might surprise yourself!
But smoking is what I do…all my friends are smokers…I smoke all the time and everywhere.
These are some of the thoughts smokers have that keep them from seriously considering or committing to stop smoking.
Well, don’t let those thoughts stop you from making an attempt to stop smoking. You don’t have to give up your family, friends, and all of the activities that you enjoy to stop smoking. In fact, when you stop smoking you may regain the ability to do all the things you want without having to interrupt them to satisfy your urge for a cigarette.
However, early on you may need to change some things until you feel confident in your ability to not smoke. As your confidence builds you can ease yourself back into your relationships and your activities. During the first few months of not smoking you might want to take particular care around or even avoid these situations.
Alcohol is a big trigger to smoke for many people. Initially you might want to have fewer drinks and drink less often. Some people stop drinking completely for a while until they feel confident in their ability to drink alcohol and not smoke.
Being around family and friends who smoke – Talk to your family and friends ahead of time and let them know that you plan to stop smoking. Ask for their support. Ask them not to offer you a cigarette and to not smoke around you. Make sure not to come across like you are telling them that they need to stop smoking. If they feel pressure from you they will be less able to be supportive of you. Once they realize that this is about you they may surprise you with their support. If you have friends who are not supportive you may want to take a break from them for a while.
Self-care – Take good care of yourself in general. Keep track of how you are feeling, how you are resting, and how well you are eating. Remember HALT, if you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired you might benefit from taking a nap, eating a healthy meal or snack, and contacting a support person.
It’s important to take care of yourself when stopping smoking. For the short-term, avoid slippery places when possible, and have a plan in place to manage the situations you cannot avoid. In the long run you will be able to more fully enjoy what you do and who you do it with.
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July 4th is a time to celebrate with family and friends – and also a time to celebrate a healthier you! You’ve already shown a commitment to a healthier future by deciding to stop smoking. Another way to feel better is to take steps to manage spending time with friends and family who might still use tobacco. With a little planning you can enjoy the festivities and still stay smoke-free!
Celebrations can bring back strong memories of tobacco use, and trigger powerful urges to smoke – especially if you have friends or family who still use tobacco. These three steps can help:
Think ahead:
- Who will be there? Who will be supportive and who might not be? Who can you talk to ahead of time to line up support? What will be the most challenging moments?
Prepare:
- How will you actually handle the situation? Who will you plan to spend time with? Are there any places you plan to avoid? Practice in your mind how you want to tell people you have quit using tobacco and how they can help you.
Cope:
- If your doctor has recommended medications to help you stop using tobacco, make sure you bring these with you to the celebration – and use them! Spend time with the people who have offered support. Drink some cold water, and find some fruits or veggies to munch on. If all else fails, excuse yourself and take a short walk. Even cut the evening short if you are concerned you might use some tobacco. Fireworks are not worth the price of all the hard work you have done so far!
There are a lot of “firsts” that go along with stopping smoking. You will probably always remember your “first” winter not using tobacco, your “first” big argument without smoking, studying for your “first” final exam with no cigarettes, and also your “first” 4th of July without lighting up. But your second 4th of July (and then your 3rd!) not smoking should get a lot easier.
Share your smoke-free 4th of July stories with your friends at becomeanex.org
Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
The lyrics to the song go, “Summertime and the living is easy...” Well living is what it is all about so why not use the change of season to make another change as summer is a time when many people try to stop smoking. They feel being a bit busier outdoors, having more sunlight to make the days longer, and just the freedom of being outdoors helps set the stage for stopping smoking. Also, stopping smoking early in the summer can give you at least three months of solid smoke-free time under your belt before the season changes to becoming cloudier, shorter days and the inevitable winter months when you spend most of your time indoors. So why not plan to stop smoking today.
Look over the BecomeanEX.org website and develop a plan of action. Medication will help, making plans to manage your triggers will help, talking with a support group or support person will help, and setting a quit date will help. Set your quit date as soon as you can put your plan in place and have the entire summer to enjoy being smoke-free You’ll have a happier, healthier, and wealthier summer season. Get ready, get set, and go enjoy a smoke-free summer. “…fish are jumping and the cotton is high.”
Dr.Richard Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
It seems that many people smoke, not only to manage stress, but also to fill time. We often hear about how much more time people have once they stop smoking. Usually this is seen as a positive and good part of becoming tobacco free. However, some folks have difficulty when they are faced with open time. So, this may be a golden opportunity for you not only to become physically healthier, but to get in touch with what is really important to you and make the most of your newly found time.
In today's busy world it is very easy to find things that eat up our time. One of the things that devour a significant chunk of many peoples’ days is watching television. There is always something on, and numerous channels from which to choose. A person might watch a television show even though there is no interest in it.
As you stop smoking you have a new opportunity to identify what things are truly important to you in your life and to find ways to make them become more of a reality for you. As you prepare for your quit day, take a pad of paper and a pen to a quiet space and write down the things that you would like to have as a regular part of your life. Each person’s list might be different so focus upon the things that are important to you. Your list might include taking more walks, spending more quality time with love ones, learning to play an instrument, learning a new language, connecting with old friends, joining a hobby group, learning to dance, taking classes through community education, learning to cook a new dish, and a multitude of other options.
Finding ways to use your newfound time in a manner that is motivating and positive for you can be a powerful way to reward yourself for stopping smoking.
Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
What we know about people who smoke is that most of them wish that they didn’t. Nevertheless, they find that they can’t quite commit themselves to stop smoking despite the fact that they could come up with many reasons why they wish they weren’t smoking. This ambivalence is a normal part of behavior change. People who smoke can generally acknowledge its negative aspects, yet at the same time, they can also tell you the reasons they continue to smoke such as, “I enjoy it,” “It’s a social thing,” or “It helps maintain my weight.”
We recommend that you make a list of the personal positive reasons to stop smoking and focus on the benefits of each one of those reasons. Some common reasons include:
- I’ll enjoy better health
- I’ll save money
- I’ll smell better
- I’ll breathe easier
- I’ll get rid of the control that cigarettes hold over me
What are some other reasons unique to your situation? When you think about the reasons to continue smoking, consciously make yourself turn your thoughts to the benefits of stopping. Talk to yourself frequently about the good things about stopping and this will be your first step to resolve your ambivalence in favor of making one of the most important decisions of your life – a commitment to set a quit date!
Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
Smoking can affect a man’s ability to get an erection. Men who smoke are twice as likely as men who do not smoke to have erectile dysfunction. So maybe you don’t have any problem getting an erection now. It could be soon, because when tested 86% of men who smoke have an abnormal penile vascular function.
The effects of smoking on the penis are multi-factorial. They can be caused acutely, by not being able to have an erection immediately after smoking, or from chronic changes in the blood supply to a man’s penis. Smoking affects the ability of blood vessels to allow blood flow into the penis, thereby, decreasing the ability of the man who smokes to have an erection. It also can cause structural changes in the muscle of the penis, decreasing its ability to respond to blood flow.
Initially, erectile dysfunction from smoking can be reversible, however, the longer a man smokes, the more likely the changes that have happened in his penis are likely to stay, even if he stops smoking. In one study, 25% of men who stopped smoking had improvement in their erections. None of the men who continued to smoke had any improvement.
The likelihood of having erectile dysfunction increases with smoking and exposure to second hand smoke. The more exposure to second hand smoke, the more likely he is to have erectile dysfunction.
Men might think that there are many medications available now to help with erectile dysfunction. Unfortunately, men with erectile dysfunction caused from smoking are less likely to have a response to those medications.
Erectile dysfunction is often a warning of other vascular and cardiac problems. So, for both your heart and your heart throb, stop smoking.
Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
Sometimes people wonder if stopping smoking is just luck. Some people succeed and others do not, and some people believe it's all "mind over matter." However, if you look at the evidence it appears three things improve the "luck" factor:
- Using some form of medication : Nicotine replacement such as patches, etc. and non nicotine medications such as varenicline* (Chantix®) or bupropion ( Zyban® or Wellbutrin®) have been shown repeatedly to help smokers to stop smoking and by decreasing cravings to smoke the medications help increase people's sense of confidence in their ability to become smoke-free.
- A clear behavioral plan to address triggers and urges to smoke: Having a clear, practical way to address urges to smoke is also key. Spending less time around those who smoke, utilizing behavioral coping skills such as chewing gum, sucking mints and squeezing stress balls can help a person through the urges.
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/ www.becomeanex.org/ reach-out.php">On-going support from family or friends: Having support from family or friends can make a big difference in staying smoke-free. This support can be simple positive reinforcing statements or could be asking support people to spend more time with you as you go through the transition of becoming smoke-free.
All of these elements are important factors in one's "luck" for stopping smoking and staying tobacco-free. Perhaps when we look at stopping smoking this way it looks less like "luck" and more like planned strategies that work!
Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org
* Food & Drug Administration Warning
The Food & Drug Administration has warned that both bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix) have been associated with serious adverse effects, including hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions. The risks that are known to be associated with smoking must be balanced against the small, but real risk of these serious adverse effects. People who are taking either bupropion or varenicline and experience any serious and unusual changes in mood or behavior or who feel like hurting themselves or someone else should stop taking the medicine and call their healthcare professional right away. Bupropion, varenicline and nicotine replacement medications are also not recommended for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding without consulting their doctor. Ask your doctor if one of these medications is right for you. As always, read and follow label directions. Also keep in mind that new medications are being developed all the time to help people stop smoking. Ask your doctor if anything new is available.