Print 
Share 
Text 
To reset, hold the Ctrl key, then press 0.
The most important thing you can do for your health is to quit smoking.
Tobacco smoke has caused the most deadly epidemic in Canada resulting in nearly 40,000 premature deaths per year. Nevertheless, more than 5 million Canadians aged 15 and over continue to smoke.
Most smokers (> 70%) want to quit but have trouble doing so because of the powerfully addictive properties of nicotine.
Smokers typically experience symptoms of nicotine withdrawal when they abruptly stop using tobacco (i.e. strong cravings, depressed mood, irritability, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and increased appetite) and therefore continue to smoke to avoid these unwanted symptoms.
Most smokers attempting to quit do so without any form of treatment, though fewer than 5% of “cold turkey” quit attempts will be successful.
Effective treatments are available and consist of medications, counselling and follow-up. Using quit smoking medications like nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion and varenicline can double or triple the chance of quitting successfully long-term. Group-, individual- and telephone-based counselling supports are each effective and follow up should occur for 3-12 months. When all of these treatments are combined, one-year quit rates in the 25%-30% range can be achieved.
Relapse is common. Studies have shown that a smoker will attempt to quit 4-7 times before being successful. The most common causes of smoking relapse: alcohol, depressed mood, and social situations. Smokers can learn skills to manage these situations to increase their chances of successful quitting and quit smoking medications can also help to avoid relapse.
If you want to quit smoking:
Register for the Ottawa Heart Institute’s Quit Smoking Program (613-761-5464, quitsmoking@ottawaheart.ca). This outpatient clinic is designed to provide patients with a personalized plan for quitting using the most up-to-date clinical approaches to treating tobacco dependence.
Debbie Aitken
APN, Smoking Cessation
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Support patient care and research at
The Ottawa Hospital
Comment on this post