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Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: So, you feel smoking soothes you, makes you feel better, and reduces your stress?
- A: Actually, it's creating stress for you - addiction. If you smoke to calm yourself before or after a stressful event, you probably feel immediate gratification. That gratification is not from stress reduction rather it is from the gratification for your body's chemical need for nicotine. In studies, smokers indicate they feel "relaxed" when they smoke, but these same smokers also report higher incidence of mood fluctuations, with "normal moods during smoke inhalation followed by periods of increased stress between cigarettes." Smokers also report patterns of irritability and stress around the time that they abstain from nicotine.
- Source: Parrott, Andy (1999). Does Cigarette Smoking Cause Stress? American Psychologist, 54, 817 - 820
- Q: So if cigarettes are so great at reducing stress, why are you still anxious?
- A: Apparently, the mood "benefits" of smoking amount to only the relief of withdrawal symptoms, not stress reduction. It is for some reason that people usually become anxious and agitated the first fews days after they quit smoking, but by day 14 withdrawal symptoms have often dissipated and if you feel anxious it's probanly because of other stressers, and not because of nicotine withdrawal. Addiction is stressful; nicotine is a stresser. Think about quitting.
- Source: Parrott, Andy (1999). Does Cigarette Smoking Cause Stress? American Psychologist, 54, 817 - 820
- Q: What are some little know facts about cigarettes/nicotine?
- 1. There are 4,700 chemicals in cigarettes, including acetone (fingernail polish remover), cyanide, formaldehyde, methanol, and tar, to name a few.
- 2. More than half of current smokers have tried to quit.
- 3. Nearly 90% of current smokers want to quit.
- 4.Less than 25% ofsmokers quit on their first attempt - so keep trying. It takes time and practice.
- 5. Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in our society.
- 6. Tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths in the U.S.
- 7. Daily smokers lose an average of 15 years of life.
- 8. One pack a day smokers spend approximately $1000 a year on cigarettes (based on a $2.74 pack).
- Source: American Cancer Society & New Smoking Cessation Strategies: Update, 1998, Inova Fairfax Hospital.
- Q: What are some tips to help me quit smoking?
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1. Aviod high risk situations (triggers) that you associate with smoking.
- 2. Talk to your friends and family about how you want them to support you.
- 3. If your friends and/or partner smokes ask them to please not smoke around you for the first three months after you have quit.
- 4.Change your habits so that there are less cigarette-associations.
- 5. Take deep breaths.
- 6. Drink a lot of water.
- 7. Do something else to get your mind off the craving (i.e. take a walk, talk with friends, etc.)
- 8. Repeat your reasons for quitting 10 times everytime you get a craving.
- 9. Start thinking of how you'r going to spend all the money you'll save from not buying cigarettes.
- 10. Chew on gum, candy, or carrot sticks.
- 11. Eat your food slowly and enjoy every flavor. Your taste buds are going to come to life again after you quit smoking.
- 12. Don't worry about weight gain. Eat healthy foods and increase your activity levels. Most people who quit don't gain weight, or if they do they lose it quickly.
- 13. If you do not succeed, try again!
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