Crush the craving
Most smokers say they want to quit, but only 7 percent kick the habit without help, according to the American Cancer Society.
The organization attributes a combination of physical, emotional and psychological factors to the difficulty in smoking cessation.
But for those who want to quit smoking without relying on traditional crutches like the nicotine patch or gum, there are other cessation assistance options.
Classes
Community Health Challenge of Southwestern Pennsylvania offers smoking cessation classes not only to the public, but to employers and schools as well.
"We are involved with tobacco prevention and control programs, including Tobacco-Free Butler County," said Sherry Chestnutt, office coordinator and business analyst for Community Health Challenge.
"Our biggest class is offered at Butler Memorial Hospital. It is a four-week behavior modification program which helps you understand tobacco addiction and gives you techniques to overcome that addiction."
Chestnutt said working with the medical community is important because of the seriousness of tobacco addiction.
"The physical addiction is gone in three days, but the psychological factor is all-encompassing in your life. Quitting really is relearning how to live," she said.
"We encourage people to have a support system in place, and those people are encouraged to attend (classes) as well."
Slippery Rock University's Health Services and Prevention Department works with the Community Health Challenge to provide its classes, as well as individual counseling and group options for smoking cessation."Typically, every February we offer a free smoking cessation class to students, faculty and staff," said Renee Bateman, coordinator of Health Promotion at SRU."Our student counseling center also provides individual sessions for students, and they are able to reach other resources through Student Health Services," Bateman said.SRU works with both the American Lung Association and Smoke Stoppers."(Smoke Stoppers) is a group session developed to give them a quit date and lifestyle change options," Bateman said.Nurses are always available to students, faculty and staff in the student health center, and they can advise on cessation options but refer individuals to their primary care provider for treatments such as nicotine gum or patches.Students Working Against Tobacco and HOPE (Healthy Outreach through Peer Education) are the university's two main forces to get information out to students year-round, Bateman said.HypnotherapyDaniel Vitchoff at the PA Hypnosis Center programs the subconscious mind to go back to its original state: that of a nonsmoker."I use a powerful combination of hypnosis and NLP (neurolinguistic programming) to program the subconscious quickly," Vitchoff said."It's not that people don't know what to do, it's getting that message into the subconscious mind."Vitchoff called smoking a conditioned response like biting fingernails or checking for traffic."For example, you may be crossing the street, and someone you trust says the coast is clear. You know there is no one coming but you look anyway," Vitchoff said."In that case, that is a habit that is keeping us alive. But habits can also be destructive, such as overeating or using tobacco."Vitchoff has worked with U.S. Olympic athletes, and he compares smoking cessation to that experience."For years, athletes would only train themselves physically. But now, the top athletes are all within reach of each other, so the ones who are winning are those who are able to stay focused under pressure, those who are mentally tough," he said."That ability to train your mind to do something on cue, or to remain 'in the zone,' is the same thing I do here with smoking or weight loss clients."Vitchoff encouraged those considering hypnotherapy to research their options, since the practice is not regulated in Pennsylvania."When you're selecting someone, it's good to do some research on their track record, educational background and those types of things," he said.AcupunctureDr. Richard Fortune, proprietor of Fortune Acupuncture and Herb Clinic in Cranberry Township, has been helping smokers kick the habit in unconventional ways for more than 30 years."Like any addictive therapy, people have usually tried a lot of other options. Acupuncture, though, is quite effective. So much so that it is utilized in courts of law," Fortune said.He cited Miami, New York City and parts of California as places where acupuncture is used as a court-ordered rehabilitation option in lieu of prison time.Acupuncture detox therapy is not "in vogue" in Pennsylvania, Fortune said, but that does not detract from its effectiveness."People may be able to (quit smoking) in one treatment, or it may take a series of treatments. The treatment uses five needles on the external ear," Fortune said.He said clients might go home with a tiny tack still in the ear to address later cravings, which he called "homework.""We offer a complete approach. A full-body acupuncture treatment also is available, and we offer a wide range of herbal remedies to accompany the treatment, such as homeopathics or Chinese herbal remedies," Fortune said.Info linesThe state Department of Health has a free quit line at 800-784-8669, which allows smokers to hear a friendly, informative voice as they give up nicotine."It's convenient and works in all geographical areas, as well as being confidential," said Mary Kokstis, senior director of client services for Free and Clear, which operates the help line."There's something to be said for being able to have a helpful conversation with one of our quit coaches, who can help an individual develop a personalized plan for quitting," she said.The Internet also offers a bevy of smoking cessation resources, from both private and government groups.A Web site created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute, www.smokefree.gov, gives smokers options to research and understand their habit, as well as quit.The site includes a step-by-step cessation guide online, publications that can be viewed online or downloaded, and numerous telephone numbers for local and national smoking cessation groups.The national Center for Disease Control and Prevention also offers information on tobacco use prevention on its Web site, www.cdc.gov.
