Ingalls Announces Free Smoking Cessation Program April 18 At Ingalls Family Care Center In Flossmoor

(April, 2007) Ask any of the 48 million Americans who smoke if they’ve ever thought about quitting, or have actually tried to quit, and most of them would say “yes.”

Then ask if they’ve been successful, and most would say “no.”

“Smokers are aware that there are numerous health risks associated with smoking, yet they find it difficult to quit because of nicotine’s powerful addictive hold,” explains Joseph Beck, M.D., psychiatrist and addictions specialist, with an office at Ingalls Family Care Center in Flossmoor. “Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that keeps you smoking. It can be as addictive as cocaine. Nicotine increases the release of a brain chemical called dopamine, which makes you feel good. Getting that dopamine boost is part of the addiction process.”

To better educate south suburban residents about the dangers of smoking and the resources available to help them quit, Ingalls is hosting a free smoking cessation program -- Smoking Addiction: Will Willpower Alone Work?”-- on Wednesday, April 18, 6:30 p.m., at the Flossmoor Center. The program will feature presentations by Dr. Joseph Beck and his father, Charles Beck, M.D., board-certified pulmonologist, also on staff at Ingalls.

The program will have three primary components: a discussion of what’s really in cigarettes; the health risks associated with smoking; and nicotine addiction and the newest medications to overcome it.

“Cigarette smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death in the United States today,” explains Dr. Charles Beck. “Smoking cigarettes is the only thing in the world that will maim and then kill you if you use it exactly as instructed.”

Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 438,000 American lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of “secondhand” smoke.

Overall, smokers are at greater risk of developing heart disease, lung and many other forms of cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, peripheral artery disease and stroke.

According to the American Lung Association, men who smoke lose an average of 13.2 years of life, while smoking women lose even more – an average of 14.5 years.

The good news is that quitting smoking provides almost immediate health benefits to smokers. But quitting isn’t easy. Ask any smoker, and they’ll say it’s one of the hardest habits they’ve ever tried to break. In fact, recent studies show that only five percent of smokers who try to quit on their own make it a year or more.

“The good feelings that result when an addictive drug is present – and the bad feelings when it’s absent – make breaking any addiction very difficult,” Dr. Joseph Beck said. “Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.”

Complications from Smoking

Tobacco smoke delivers at least 60 known cancer-causing chemicals, including arsenic and cyanide, and more than 4,000 other substances to the body. And today’s cigarettes are more deadly than their predecessors.

“Cigarettes are much better killers today than they were in the 1940s,” Dr. Charles Beck explained.

The reasons: newer methods of “curing” tobacco that adds dangerous chemicals to cigarettes; toxic additives that keep a cigarette burning; and the use of tobacco stems in cigarettes, which adds three times more nicotine – just to name a few.

All of these add up to multiple health risks, including:

Lung Damage. Smoking is responsible for 87 percent of lung cancers. Unfortunately, nearly 80 percent of all lung cancers are diagnosed in the advanced stage, when treatment is least effective. “Lung cancer is a very formidable enemy,” Dr. Charles Beck said. “And late-stage lung cancer is notoriously resistant to treatment.”

Smoking is also the primary cause of other lung problems, such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Damage to the heart and circulatory system. Smoking increases the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and aortic aneurysm. If you smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day, you are five times more likely than a non-smoker to develop heart disease. Smoking 15 cigarettes a day doubles your heart attack risk. Even just one to four cigarettes daily increases your risk of heart disease. Smokers have a higher risk of stroke than non-smokers do, and women who take oral contraceptives and smoke are at even greater risk of stroke.

Cancer. Smoking is a major cause of cancer of the esophagus, larynx, throat (pharynx) and mouth, and contributes to cancer of the bladder, pancreas, liver, kidney, cervix, stomach, colon and rectum, and some leukemias.

Diminished physical appearance. The chemicals in tobacco smoke can dry and irritate the skin, as well as promote wrinkles. Smoking also yellows the teeth, fingers and fingernails.

Infertility. Smoking increases the risk of infertility and miscarriage in women, and the risk of impotence and infertility in men.

Pregnancy and newborn complications. Mothers who smoke while pregnant increase the risk of low birth weight, pre-term delivery and impaired lung function in their newborns.

Cold, flu and other illnesses. Smokers are more prone to illnesses, such as colds, flu or bronchitis, than non-smokers are.

Dulling of the senses. Smoking deadens the senses of taste and smell, so food isn’t as appetizing as it once was.

Inhaling secondhand smoke can be equally devastating to a non-smoker, with nearly 40,000 non-smokers dying every year from heart and blood vessel disease related to someone else’s smoke.

Freedom From Smoking

According to the American Lung Association, four out of five smokers say they want to quit. And each year, about 1.3 million smokers do – often after repeated attempts to quit.

“Smokers who have tried and failed should try again, ideally after learning from their past failures and analyzing what went wrong,” Dr. Joseph Beck said.

“In my 35 years of practice, I have found that the most successful method to quit smoking involves some form of behavior modification before the actual quit date,” Dr. Charles Beck added. “When someone is ready to quit, I tell them to change the type and brand of their cigarettes; to use matches instead of lighters; to smoke outside or in the bathroom; to carry their cigarettes around in a small plastic bag instead of in the pack; to drink tea with their cigarettes instead of coffee; and to limit their daily intake to only 10 cigarettes.”

Dr. Charles Beck said that in his medical practice, successful behavior modification, coupled with appropriate anti-smoking medications (such as Pfizer’s new Chantix), has resulted in an 80-percent success rate.

Indeed, numerous national studies have shown that the most successful ex-smokers use a combination of therapies, including participation in a smoking-cessation program – such as the American Lung Association’s proven Freedom From Smoking program offered at Ingalls Flossmoor Family Care Center beginning May 1 – physician advice, nicotine replacement therapy, non-nicotine medications (such as Chantix), anti-depressants (such as Welbutrin), and behavior modification.

Freedom from Smoking focuses on a variety of issues that smokers face when they are trying to quit, such as weight gain, stress, recovery symptoms, how to handle cravings, avoiding relapse, the importance of exercise and more. Participants receive valuable educational materials and support resources to increase their chances of success.

“Tobacco dependence involves psychological as well as physical factors,” Dr. Joseph Beck explained. “You may develop strong, repetitive behaviors associated with smoking. You may smoke at certain times of the day, or in certain locations, or under certain levels of stress. The behaviors and routines that you associate with smoking have to be addressed to successfully overcome your addiction to tobacco.”

But the pain associated with quitting is well worth the effort.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your heart rate goes down. Twelve hours later, the carbon monoxide levels in your blood return to normal. Your lung function improves, and your circulation starts to get better between two weeks and three months after your last cigarette. Between one and nine months after quitting, your risk of infections drops, and coughing and shortness of breath decrease. After one year, the risk of coronary artery disease drops by half. After five to 15 years, your stroke risk will be the same as that of a non-smoker. And after 10 years, your risk of developing lung cancer is half that of those who continue to smoke.

“The sooner you quit smoking, the better,” Dr. Charles Beck added. “But even if you’re a longtime smoker, stopping your nicotine dependence and taking healthy lifestyle steps now can reverse much of the damage smoking has done to your body.”

Seating is limited; to register for the Wednesday, April 18 program, call Ingalls Care Connection at 1.800.221.2199.

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