Jump to full article: New York Times, 2010-07-20
Author: JANE E. BRODY
Intro: My husband's fate was sealed at age 11, when he smoked his first cigarette. As he put it, "I got hooked that very day." Although he tried repeatedly to quit, he rarely abstained from nicotine longer than a tortured week or two.
Finally, with the help of a hypnotist and nicotine gum, at age 61 he quit for good. But 50 years of smoking took its toll. Emphysema limited his stamina for a decade, and lung cancer killed him 15 years after he smoked his last cigarette.
That's the bad news. The good news is that he repeatedly told our sons, "Learn from my mistake -- if you never start, you'll never have to quit," and they never started. . . .
Still, the improved understanding of nicotine addiction, including evidence of a genetic influence, has offered new avenues for prevention and treatment. First and foremost, of course, is to keep youngsters from starting. . . .
Dr. Benowitz expects that New York's new $4.35-a-pack cigarette tax (by far the highest in the nation) will deter adolescent smoking by raising the full price to about $10. But more can be done through taxation, especially if tax dollars are directed toward tobacco control.
In The New England Journal of Medicine this month, Dr. Steven A. Schroeder and Kenneth E. Warner note that European tobacco taxes tend to be much higher; in Norway, for example, they exceed $11 a pack. The writers suggested extending smoke-free zones to vehicles in which children ride, apartments and condominiums, and public parks and beaches, as well as more public financing of cessation programs.
Nicotine's Hook
Nicotine provides a quick fix. . . .
Dr. Benowitz noted that women who smoke are more strongly influenced than men by "conditioned cues" and negative emotions. Women also metabolize nicotine more quickly, which can make them more dependent on nicotine and explain in part why it is more difficult for women to quit.
"If we understand the reasons different people smoke, we can provide specific behavioral skills to deal with them instead of smoking," he said. "Smoking cessation has to be individualized."
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Quotes from this article:
My husband's fate was sealed at age 11, when he smoked his first cigarette.
NY Times "Personal Health" columnist Jane Brody gets personal about the effects of smoking on the smoker -- and his family.
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