Three Link Chain of Addiction

If you would like to quit visit www.waytoquit.org. If Select Health is your insurance provider you can also visit www.quitnow.net/program. If you complete a smoking cessation course you can earn 2 hours of vacation. See the activity menu for details.

Why is it so hard for may people to quit smoking? Most smokers know that they're addicted, but they may not realize that there are several aspects to their addiction. We call this the Three-Link Chain of Addiction. Smokers have a better chance of quitting and staying quit if they address all three parts of the chain.

Physical

Smokers become physically hooked on the chemical nicotine in cigarettes. Nicotine is extremely addictive and actually produces changes in a smoker's brain. As a result, having a cigarette decreases a smoker's anxiety level and can help improve mood. Nicotine also stimulates the brain to release chemicals that make the smoker feel more awake and alert.

Mental

Smokers often have a cigarette at the same time every day. This may be during the drive to work, while talking on the telephone, or after finishing a meal. Smoking becomes such an automatic behavior that some smokers light up without even thinking about it. Smokers also link emotions like pleasure or relief with having a cigarette.

Social

Smoking plays a huge role in our society. Teenagers often begin smoking to fit in with a group. Asking "Got a light?" Is a common way to break the ice when meeting someone new. Social groups even form when the same employees regularly go outside to smoke during breaks.

How can you help someone who is in the quitting process? Check out the ideas below!

http://women.smokefree.gov/support.aspx

Smokeless Tobacco: No Smoke, No Danger?

There's NO such thing as a "SAFE" tobacco product. 
It's that simple really!

Smokeless tobacco comes in different forms; snuff and chewing tobacco. Snuff is a fine grain tobacco that comes in can or teabag-like pouches. Chewing tobacco comes in shredded, twisted, or bricked tobacco leaves that users put between their cheek and gum. The sucking and chewing allow nicotine, the highly addictive component of tobacco products, to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the tissues of the mouth.

What can smokeless tobacco do to you?

•  Addiction to Nicotine
• Oral cancers of the mouth, throat, and larynx (voice box)
• Increased heart rate, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and irregular heartbeats, all leading to a greater risk of heart attacks.
• Cracking and bleeding lips and gums
• Receding gums (peeling back of gums)
• Bad breath
• Yellowish-brown stains on the teeth
• Leukoplakia: white sores in the mouth that can lead to cancer
• Loosed teeth which can eventually fall out
• Reduced sense of taste and ability to smell
• Ulcers

If you would like to quit visit www.waytoquit.org. If Select Health is your insurance provider you can also visit www.quitnow.net/program. If you complete a smoking cessation course you can earn 2 hours of vacation. See the activity menu for details.

E-cigarettes: What You Should Know

E-cigarettes go by many names; electronic cigarettes, personal vaporizer, PVs, or electronic nicotine delivery system. Doesn't matter the name, they are all essentially the same thing, a battery operated device used to inhale nicotine. Here's what you should know about these relatively new devices.

• Most e-cigarettes have nicotine, just like regular cigarettes and other tobacco products. Nicotine is very addictive and once you start, it is very hard to stop.
• The chemicals in e-cigarettes may harm your health. Tests show some e-cigarette liquids have toxins and some of these toxins are known to cause cancer.
• Nicotine poisoning is a risk. Pure nicotine is a poison that can kill. There are no rules for safety labels or childproofing on e-cigarettes or the liquid refill packs. This puts children and pets at risk.
• The health effects are not known. E-cigarettes are very new, no one really knows how harmful they are. Long-term studies on the health effects have not been done. There is no proof that the vapor is safe for the person smoking, or for those who breathe the secondhand vapor.
• E-cigarettes can keep you hooked on tobacco. People who sell e-cigarettes claim they can help a person stop smoking, but there is no proof this is true. In fact, some studies suggest they may keep smokers hooked. They may also cause people who have quit smoking to start again.
• E-cigarettes make it easier for kids and first-timers to try smoking. E-cigarettes come in many flavors. Some of the flavors - such as grape, strawberry, and fruit punch - look like they are made to attract kids.Even though they have sweet flavors they still contain nicotine. Once a person gets hooked on the nicotine in an e-cigarette, they may try other tobacco products too.
• E-cigarettes are covered by the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act. Anywhere you can't smoke a traditional cigarette, you also cannot smoke an e-cigarette.

If you would like to quit visit www.waytoquit.org. If Select Health is your insurance provider you can also visit www.quitnow.net/program. If you complete a smoking cessation course you can earn 2 hours of vacation. See the activity menu for details.

Breathe Healthily, Live Happily

If you would like to quit visit www.waytoquit.org. If Select Health is your insurance provider you can also visit www.quitnow.net/program. If you complete a smoking cessation course you can earn 2 hours of vacation. See the activity menu for details.

Even if you've never picked up a cigarette in your life, most likely you still recognize the acrid smell of tobacco smoke. Most of us have been exposed not only to the smell, but to the dangers of second hand smoke. 

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is also known an environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). SHS is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco:

1. Sidestream smoke: Smoke from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar
2. Mainstream smoke: The smoke or vapor exhaled by a smoker

Even though we think of these as the same, they aren't. Sidestream smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) and is more toxic than mainstream smoke. And, it has smaller particles than mainstream smoke. These smaller particles make their way into the lungs and the body's cells more easily. The more SHS you breathe, the higher the level of these harmful chemicals in your body.

According to the 2014 Surgeon General's Report, there have been more than 20 million smoking-related deaths in the United State since 1964; 2.5 million of those deaths were among non-smokers who died from exposure to secondhand smoke. During that same time, 100,000 babies have died due to parental smoking (including smoking during pregnancy).

What can you do to protect yourself and your family? With planning, you can reduce or eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. Start with these simple steps:

• Don't allow smoking in your home. If family members or guests want to smoke, ask them to step outside. Air conditioners and ventilation systems don't effectively remove secondhand smoke from the air. To receive a FREE smoke-free home kit, call (801) 399-7195, email our staff or stop by the WMHD Health Promotions office.
• Don't allow smoking in your vehicle. If a passenger must smoke while you're traveling, stop as needed for smoke breaks outside the car.
• Be aware of clean air laws and regulations. In Utah, we are lucky to have laws that ban smoking, including e-cigarettes and hookah, from any indoor public place. If you see someone violating this law don't hesitate to inform the business owner and contact your local health department. Further, in Weber and Morgan Counties, there is a regulation that disallows smoking in outdoor public places.

If you have a partner or other loved one who smokes, offer support and encouragement to stop smoking. The entire family will reap the benefits!