Smoking is a widespread addition throughout the
world that can cause multiple health problems. Due its impact on their lives,
people try to find ways to wean off/quit smoking through nicotine replacement
therapies. However, according to a study done by researchers at Harvard School
of Public Health, replacement therapies accompanied with smoking counseling
does not seem to be affective for long-term. During the study, they surveyed
over 780 adult smokers who had recently quit smoking. The participants were ask
if they used some form of nicotine replacement and if they saw a doctor or
counselor for help; they were questioned in 2001-2002, 2003-2004, and
2005-2006. Researchers found that during each time period, one-third of
quitters relapsed (with or without nicotine replacement therapy or professional
help).
Other than nicotine replacement therapies, many people
are turning to E-cigarettes. E-cigs are
the new “in thing” amongst people of all ages. At home, you can look around and
see at least two or three people with an e-cig. It is suppose to reduce smoker’s
exposure to toxins that cigarettes contain. It generally uses heating elements
that vaporize liquid solution; some solutions contain small amounts of nicotine
and other is merely flavored vapor. Many people see e-cigs as a way to wean
off/quit cigarettes because they can still smoke but with little to no
nicotine. However, according to Vaughan Rees, deputy director of the Center for
Global Tobacco Control at Harvard School of Public Health, smokers tend to turn
back to cigarettes or use both products. There are also other issues with
e-cigs in terms of promoting addiction in young kids. Even though people may
use e-cigs to help them quit smoking, there is no evidence that shows that
e-cigs are solutions to people’s addition.
I believe we need to find better means of
therapy to help people quit smoking. Nicotine replacement patches and e-cigs
are not helping people in the long term. Because smoking is such a problem and
can cause significant health problems, society as a whole needs to put an
effort forward to help people who want to quit. Smoking not only affects the
person, but it influences the people around him/her.
Article:
“A Prospective Cohort Study Challenging the Effectiveness of
Population-based Medical Intervention for Smoking Cessation,” Hillel R. Alpert,
Gregory N. Connolly, Lois Biener. Tobacco Control, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050129,online
January 9, 2012.
There certainly are few alternative solutions that provide lasting results. I've also heard that oral fixation plays a role in the battle to end smoking. Often this fixation leads to potential weight gain through the compensation to attend to this missing addiction by compulsive eating. Thus smokers wanting to quit should contemplate a lifestyle change where they can implement healthy exercise and diet choices to limit weight gain.
ReplyDeleteI know several people who are trying to quit smoking by using e-cigs. In fact, today I was witnessing my uncle smoke one of them at my grandma's house and couldn't help but think that e-cigs aren't living up to their hype. What a coincidence that you decided to write about this Jaymee!
ReplyDeleteI did a little digging and found an article published in Indoor Air that studied the effects of e-cigs on secondhand emissions. Many people who use e-cigs also choose to smoke them inside because of the low dose of nicotine and other toxins associated with conventional cigarettes. However, the study found that not only are e-cigs potentially ineffective at helping smokers quit, but they may also be unsafe for nonsmokers that may be in the same vicinity as someone using the e-cigs. The study found that although not nearly as toxic as conventional cigarettes, e-cigs still release elevated levels of volatile organic compounds like acetone, acetaldehyde, isoprene, etc. that can be harmful if inhaled into the human lungs. This is yet another reason to reevaluate e-cigs as a tool to help people quit smoking. I agree with you that we need to find better alternatives to help people quit smoking, and at the very least define regulations for those that choose to use e-cigs.
Here's a link to the interesting article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2012.00792.x/pdf
Helping smokers quit can and does seem to be one of the biggest and hottest markets for drug companies. There has even been a vaccine invented known as "NicVax". If this vaccine made it through human trials (it didn't), imagine the hype and demand over a quick fix such as a vaccine to ward off bad smoking habits?
ReplyDeletePharmacologically speaking I believe the biggest problem with alternative nicotine replacement strategies such as patches come from the lack of MAO's. We recently learned in Psychopharmacology that cigarettes contain Monoamine Oxidizers (MAO's) which increase serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels. This is very appealing to most people because those neurotransmitters often boost mood. It makes sense that these alternative approaches are not successful, it doesn't seem to just be about the nicotine.
Jaymee, I truly support with this blog post. Seeing an addicted cigarette smoker first hand is an example of this article. My brother must smoke four cigarettes a day minimum, and this is what I see for the few hours that I am home. In my parents' desperation and hopes for my brother to quit, they have bought him the patches, the gum, and the e-cigarettes, which are commonly known not to be cheap. If he is not making an excuse to not use the substitutes, he carelessly throws around his e-cigarettes, subconsciously trying to break them on purpose in order to go back to the original source. To be honest, I initially attempted to research the opposing side of this argument just for the sake of mere argument, but I found it extremely difficult to find an article supporting nicotine substitutes, even when typing that directly into Google. E-cigarettes make smoking cigarettes more desirable by appealing to the youth and more annoyingly, trends. There is nothing better or more advantageous about them; they increase chances of relapse, are extremely costly, and experts say that sheer determination and ad campaigns are stronger than substitutes.
ReplyDeleteAn article to support this post:
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-study-finds-nicotine-replacement.html