Quitting Smoking: Medical Hypnoanalysis Works And Lasts

WebMD Health News: FDA Warning on Stop-Smoking Drugs

July 1, 2009 -- The FDA warns that bizarre behavior -- including suicide -- is seen in people taking the stop-smoking drugs Chantix and Zyban.

Both drugs now will carry "black box" labels warning that people taking the drugs should be closely watched for signs of suicidal thoughts, depression, hostility, or other changes in behavior.

"We want people to use these drugs carefully and pay attention," Robert J. Temple, MD, director of the FDA's office of medical policy, said at a news conference. "Stopping smoking is a goal we all want to work toward. We don't want to scare people off these drugs -- we just want them carefully monitored."

It's not at all clear that the drugs actually cause these behavior changes. Smokers are addicted to nicotine -- and when they quit, their withdrawal symptoms can include many bizarre behaviors, including suicide.

However, Curt Rosebraugh, MD, MPH, director of one of the FDA's drug evaluation units, said that some of the suicide reports came from Chantix users who were still smoking.

The FDA has been following reports of suicide and bizarre behavior in people taking Chantix. Indeed, the FAA bans use of the drug by pilots, and the FDA warns people not to operate heavy machinery while using the drug. But the link between such behaviors and Zyban is relatively new.

Zyban's active ingredient is bupropion, the antidepressant medication sold asWellbutrin. While Wellbutrin and other antidepressants have labels warning of suicidal thoughts, the warning had not been fully extended to people taking Zyban to quit smoking.

"Our attention was focused on Chantix. It wasn't until we started looking through things that we realized Zyban may have the same issues," Rosebraugh said at the news conference.

The most disturbing reports to the FDA involve suicide:

  • 98 completed suicides in Chantix users
  • 14 completed suicides in Zyban users
  • 188 attempted suicides in Chantix users
  • 17 attempted suicides in Zyban users

These reports have not been fully investigated. There may be duplicate reports, and the reports have not been definitively shown to be drug side effects.

Rosebraugh said the smaller number of reports for Zyban does not necessarily mean the drug is safer than Chantix. Many more patients take Chantix -- and earlier reports of a suicide link spurred increase reporting of events possibly linked to use of the drug.

Pfizer, the drug giant that makes Chantix, says the drug remains an important tool for people who want to quit smoking.

"The purpose of the new boxed warning is to raise particular issue of concern to physicians so they can mitigate it, by being more vigilant and monitor patients more actively," Steve Romano, MD, Pfizer vice president and head of medical affairs, said at a news conference.

The FDA will require Pfizer and Zyban maker GlaxoSmithKline to conduct clinical trials to evaluate whether the companies' drugs actually cause suicidality and behavior change. Unlike the clinical trials upon which drug approval was based, the new studies will enroll smokers with underlying psychiatric disorders.

Romano noted that Pfizer already is conducting a clinical trial to assess Chantix's safety and effectiveness in people suffering from schizophrenia.

Suicide, and suicidal thoughts, have been linked to a wide variety of drugs, including antidepressants, antibiotics, acne drugs, and epilepsy drugs. However, Rosebraugh said there have been no suicide reports linked to the use of nicotine patches for smoking cessation.

GlaxoSmithKline did not respond to WebMD's request for comment and had not issued a news release by publication time.

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Mpls/St Paul Magazine: "Medical Hypnoanalysis: No Smoke, No Mirrors"

Laurie Benson of Lakeville lists myriad reasons for starting to smoke-the stress of her husband being in the service during the Vietnam War, of having her first baby, of having to move back home with her parents. But she knew smoking was a habit-a thirty- year habit-she had to break.

"I thought, 'I'll wait.' I put it off," says fifty-two-year-old Benson. Then three things motivated her to quit: her sister-in-law's father had emphysema; she saw the commercial of the grandfather who fades away as his grandchild toddles toward him; and her thirty-two-year-old son told her, "I'd like to have you around a lot longer."

"When I saw those three things," says Benson, "I said, 'What am 1 going to do?' "Benson's subsequent attempts to quit were fruitless. "I tried everything!" she laments. "1 saw cadaver lungs [of a] smoker. 1 tried the patch, cold turkey-nothing worked." When she heard about Medical Hypnoanalysis, the admittedly adventurous mother, who has a degree in psychology and studied gerontology in graduate school, decided to give it a go. Medical Hypnoanalysis uses hypnosis and relaxation techniques to modify behavior or treat various conditions, Including anxiety issues, nail biting, fear of flying and other phobias, bed-wetting, and weight control. Some practitioners have even applied it to pain management, inducing deep relaxation in women who are going through labor or patients undergoing surgery without anesthetic.

Benson looked for a hypnotherapist in the phone book and found the name of Bill Ronan, a Hopkins-based Medical Hypnoanalyst, and called him. He offered to see her that afternoon. She went, but admits she was smoking on her way to his office, pessimistically thinking it would never work. Ronan took the last few cigarettes from Benson and sat her down for the session. "He said, 'We're going to take as long as it takes. It's kind of up to you,' " she recalls. "I bet I was in there less than three hours . . . and it was gone.

During therapy, he said I would not have any cravings, and I still don't. He told me, 'Not right off the bat, but in time you will come to hate the smell of cigarette smoke.' " Since that day, Benson hasn't smoked. Her carton-a-week habit gone, she managed to save more than $1,000 after half a year of not smoking. And Ronan's suggestion that she would eventually come to hate the smell of cigarettes came true.

Benson says Ronan's technique was relaxing and comfortable-there was no watch-dangling or waking up without any memory of what had happened. In fact, she says she was conscious the en- tire time and remembers everything. "People think it's hypnosis like on TV-this is not that type of hypnosis," she says. "It's deep relaxation. You don't have any thoughts .... it's so much nicer to feel what you're feeling. You listen to a background of water, and listen to him talk."

Benson quit smoking after her first treatment but continued with the sessions, which her insurance company paid for. (She offers this advice for those considering Medical Hypnoanalysis: "Call up your insurance company and use the words preventive care.")

"I can't speak highly enough of [Bill] Ronan," Benson says. "Everybody should try relaxation and meditation." -Jenny Sherman July 2003 Mpls. St.Paul"

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Smoke-Free Forever with Medical Hypnoanalysis

"Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives." The American Cancer Society

Mark Twain said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a thousand times."

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How it works: Immediately!!!

Common side effects: Stress reduction, increased self-esteem and learning self-hypnosis an extremely valuable lifelong tool.

Smoke-Free Forever with Medical Hypnoanalysis Program is based on the best research available on hypnosis-assisted smoking cessation without weight gain.

Goal is to be effective, and to help you become permanently smoke-free; rather than go for the "quick fix," we choose to go for permanent cessation.

I specialize in working with people who have tried and already quit smoking (several times!) and have relapsed; in other words, the "problem" smoker.

Here is what research and our experience tells us about smoking cessation:

A. Motivation is the key. The more motivated you are to quit, the more likely it is you will quit. Do not confuse your conscious desire or motivation to quit with your subconscious (Autonomic Nervous System) addiction. Your desire to quit, not the current ability to quit is the key. This means smoking cessation is your #1 conscious priority.

Why Quit?

A. Your Health

According tot the American Cancer Society "Health concerns usually top the list of reasons people give for quitting smoking. But smokers may not be aware of how many illnesses they may avoid by kicking the habit.

Nearly everyone knows that smoking can cause lung cancer, but few people realize it is also a risk factor for cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach, and some leukemias. More information is provided on our Cigarette Smoking and Cancer pages.

Smoking causes serious respiratory diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis for up to 20% of smokers. These progressive lung diseases-grouped under the term COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)--are usually diagnosed in current or former smokers in their 60s and 70s. COPD causes chronic illness and disability and is eventually fatal. Smokers also have twice the risk of dying of heart attacks, as nonsmokers. And smoking is a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm muscles.

For women, there are unique risks. Women over 35 who smoke and use "the pill" (oral contraceptives) are in a high-risk group for heart attack, stroke, and blood clots of the legs. Women who smoke are also more likely to have a miscarriage or a low birth-weight baby.

B. A Longer, Healthier Life

No matter what your age or how long you've smoked, quitting will help you live longer. How much longer? A 65-year-old woman who quits will add about 4 years to her life, according to a 2002 report in the American Journal of Public Health. The study looked at thousands of health records and also found that people who quit at age 35 lived on average 8 ?years longer than those who continued to smoke.

Ex-smokers also enjoy a higher quality of life with fewer illnesses from cold and flu viruses, better self-reported health status, and reduced rates of bronchitis and pneumonia.

Women who stop smoking before becoming pregnant or during the first trimester of pregnancy reduce their risk of miscarriage or of having a low birth-weight baby to the same level as women who have never smoked.

Visible and Immediate Rewards of Quitting

Quitting helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on your appearance including:

  • Premature wrinkling of the skin
  • Bad breath
  • Stained teeth
  • Gum disease
  • Bad smelling clothes and hair
  • Yellow fingernails

Kicking the tobacco habit also offers benefits that you'll notice immediately and some that will develop gradually in the first few weeks. These rewards can improve your day-to-day life substantially:

  • Food tastes better.
  • Sense of smell returns to normal.
  • Ordinary activities no longer leave you out of breath (climbing stairs, light housework, etcetera.)
  • Health and life insurance premiums drop.
  • Cost

The prospect of better health is a major reason for quitting, but there are others as well. Smoking is expensive. The economic costs of smoking are estimated to be about $3,391 per smoker per year. Do you really want to continue burning up your money with nothing to show for it except possible health problems?

C. Social Acceptance

Smoking is less socially acceptable now than it was in the past. While decisions may not be based entirely on social acceptance, most workplaces have some type of smoking restrictions. Some employers prefer to hire nonsmokers. Studies show smoking employees cost businesses more to employ because they are "out sick" more frequently. Employees who are ill more often than others can raise an employer's need for expensive temporary replacement workers. They can increase insurance costs both for other employees and for the employer, who typically pays part of the workers' insurance premiums. Smokers in a building also typically increase the maintenance costs of keeping odors at an acceptable level, since residue from cigarette smoke clings to carpets, drapes and other fabrics.

Landlords, also, may choose not to rent to smokers since maintenance costs and insurance rates may rise when smokers occupy buildings.

Friends may ask you not to smoke in their houses or cars. Public buildings, concerts, and even sporting events are largely smoke-free. Like it or not, finding a place to smoke can be a hassle.

Smokers may find their opportunities for dating or romantic involvement, including marriage, are largely limited to only other smokers, who make up only about 1/4th of the population.

D. Health of Others

Smoking not only harms your health but the health of those around you. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (also called ETS, passive smoking or second hand smoke) includes exhaled smoke as well as smoke from burning cigarettes. Studies have shown that environmental tobacco smoke can cause lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers. It is also associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and low-birth weight infants. Smoking by mothers is linked to a higher risk of their babies developing asthma in childhood, especially if the mother smokes while pregnant. Babies and children raised in a household where there is smoking have more ear infections, colds, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems than children from nonsmoking families. Environmental smoke can also cause eye irritation, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

E. Setting an Example

If you have children, you want to set a good example for them. When asked, nearly all smokers say they don't want their children to smoke, but children whose parents smoke are more likely to start smoking themselves. You can become a good role model for them by quitting now."

  1. A combination of hypnotic smoking cessation techniques is better than any single technique.
  2. Single-session hypnosis does not work significantly better than placebo in the long-run! While one-shot group or individual hypnosis sessions may actually help you quit, your chances of relapsing back into smoking are about the same as if you had stopped smoking without hypnosis. Sadly, there is a better than 50% chance you will relapse and you probably already know this from your own experience.
  3. Post-cessation treatment is the key to staying smoke-free forever without significant weight gain. Follow-up sessions after you have stopped smoking are the single best guarantee that your treatment will "stick" for the rest of your life.

Smoke-Free Forever with Medical Hypnoanalysis Program

A thorough Medical Hypnoanalytic evaluation of you and your motivation to stop, including an assessment of your past attempts and why you relapsed.

Prescription? No!

I strongly discourage the use of NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy).

Would switching from snorting to mainlining be considered a success in treating any other addiction? Why would treating nicotine with nicotine be considered a success. Should you treat a drug with a drug, let alone with the same drug or a more harmful drug? Would going from snorting to mainlining be considered a success?

According to the American Cancer Society "Nicotine is a drug found naturally in tobacco. It is highly addictive, as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Over time, the body becomes physically and psychologically dependent on nicotine. Studies have shown that smokers must overcome both of these to be successful at quitting and staying quit."

I help keep you smoke-free without significant or permanent weight gain.

I schedule follow-up sessions of Medical Hypnoanalysis to solidify your smoke-free behaviors and enhance your ability to maintain weight control.

With this program, a typical smoking cessation plan might look like this:

Session I: A Medical Hypnoanalytic History Taking and Smoking Cessation Hypnosis 3-4 hours.

Session II, part B (within 3-4 days): Medical Hypnoanalytic Smoking Cessation Hypnosis for behavior strengthening.

Session III (1 week later): Medical Hypnoanalytic Smoking Cessation Hypnosis for behavior strengthening/follow-up.

Session IV (2 weeks later): Medical Hypnoanalytic Smoking Cessation Hypnosis for strengthening/follow-up, weight control (if needed) and relapse prevention.

Session V (1 month later): Medical Hypnoanalytic Smoking Cessation Hypnosis for strengthening/follow-up, weight control (if needed) and relapse prevention.

Session VI (6 months later): Medical Hypnoanalytic Smoking Cessation Hypnosis for strengthening/follow-up, weight control (if needed) and relapse prevention.

Cost

According to the American cancer Society "Smoking is expensive. The economic costs of smoking are estimated to be about $3,391 per smoker per year. Do you really want to continue burning up your money with nothing to show for it except possible health problems?"

Note: the cost of other smoking-related items, like breath fresheners, increased cleaning costs; replacement of items that are burned, etc. are not included here.

By quitting smoking, even if it costs close to $1,000.00, you will be saving a great deal of money.

Medical Hypnoanalysis can help you reject smoking, not because you are strong, but because you have no interest in it, you don't enjoy it. You will not be giving up something you like. You'll be getting rid of something you can't stand. And when you get rid of something unwanted, there are no withdrawal problems, no need to compensate or replace one bad habit with another.

Plus for Your Lifetime it is Guaranteed!!!! After the completion of the the entire program it is guaranteed. You are not required to complete the entire program and many people feel they do not need to, but to get the guarantee completion of all recommended sessions is required. This is not a money back guarantee but a time available with me on an individual basis at no future charge, as long as we are dealing with smoking cessation. The goal is to have you quit, not get your money back!

You are free!

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Identification and Replacement

Medical Hypnoanalysis, works at a varitety of issues eliminating the desire to smoke. Two of them are Identification and Replacement.

Identification is when the smoker indulges in the habit because he admires (or associates) with others who smoke, i.e. parents, peers, or celebrities. Identification smoking is one a common reason and an easy one to eliminate.

Replacement is when smoking takes the place of a previous habit (such as overeating), is used to replace something that is missing, (such as companionship, love, acceptance, self-esteem, security, independence), or when it fills a void created by anxiety or boredom. Replacement smokers often receive sensual gratification from smoking. They enjoy the feeling of the cigarette in their mouth or the taste of the tobacco. For cigar and pipe smokers, the act of lighting often becomes a ritual.

For both types of smokers, smoking is both a physical and mental process. So to be effective, the stop-smoking program must address both aspects.

To address the psychological aspects of smoking, the Medical Hypnoanalyst may include an evaluation of why the person started smoking. "What purpose does it serve in their life?" For the Identification Smoker, suggestions can be given to help strengthen a person's perception of the individuality, i.e., not needing to smoke to be accepted. For the Replacement Smoker, a more detailed analysis of their motivation is required.

To address the physical aspects of smoking, the Medical Hypnoanalyst may include suggestions that change, via increasing awareness, of reality the perception of the taste from pleasant to unpleasant. The individual can imagine cigarettes as unappealing, bad tasting, foul smelling and revolting in every sense of the word. This makes quitting easier.

Medical Hypnoanalysis takes advantage of the mind's natural ability to imagine and visualize. The client pictures himself or herself free from the habit, filled with new health, energy and vitality. They can see themselves as looking healthier, more attractive, and being more active.

Once a smoker has achieved success in a stop-smoking program it is necessary to reinforce the programming that led to quitting. Smoking is a habit that is acquired and built over time. It can rarely be completely eliminated in an instant. Even though they may have stopped smoking, the behavior pattern still remains. Fortunately, it fades with disuse. Medical Hypnoanalytic conditioning with follow-up sessions and cassette tapes or CD's can be used to reinforce the changes until they become permanent.

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Are Cigarettes Your Best Friend?

Not only have cigarettes given pleasure, but they have also actually become companions and friends, often best friends. While human friends have their own agendas and are often fickle, cigarettes are constant and predictable. Human friends may not be available in times of stress, but cigarettes always are. Friends die or move out of town, but cigarettes are available everywhere.

Many people have come to rely on cigarettes as they would an intimate companion or lover, sharing secrets and private moments. When they receive bad news, they turn to cigarettes for relief instead of friends or family. When they recognize how they have made their cigarettes their friends and lovers, they can become overwhelmed with emotion; some react with anger, others with disgust, others with shame, as in this poem, which typifies for some a male perspective.

Author unknown:

There she was
All wrapped in a gown of
Silver accentuated by strips of blue,
Adorned with an emerald . . .
I smiled with wild anticipation
Not a word was spoken as I removed her silver top
Panting rapidly
I gently stroked every inch of her lovely white body
While inhaling her aromatic fragrance
Lighting her fire with mad passion
Sucking on her orifice
Tasting her sweet addictive juices.
I felt my hormones and adrenalin
Coursing through my body.
I had to have her again and again.
After a while my craving was satisfied.
and she lay exhausted,
Broken in the ash tray.

For many smokers, cigarettes start out as a companion, become a friend, then a lover, and then like a part of their body. As in any dysfunctional relationship we help the client adjust to a healthy lifestyle alternative.

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Smoking-Cessation Medical Hypnoanalysis works and it lasts

For the majority of people the utter worst technique to attempt to deal with a smoking habit is through the use of self-discipline. Like moods and emotions, self-discipline fluctuates. One day it is strong. The subsequent day may be a down day, and self-discipline fades. It is typically neither dependable nor successful.

In the midst of smoking-cessation measures there are innumerable methods, programs, surrogate products, medication, chewing gums, self-help tapes and books, etc. Several are intended to be of assistance in building up the personal power to refuse to give in to or conquer the compulsion. Medical Hypnoanalysis does not work at achieving the power to refuse to give in to it. It is calculated to eradicate the craving. Instead of giving up something that a person enjoys (a sacrifice), the individual's objective is to be free of something that isn't sought after- a great deal more enjoyable arrangement psychologically.

The Nature Of Smoking

In view of the fact that smoking is mutually physical and mental, success in a smoking-cessation endeavor must transform not simply the mental outlook, but the physical response. Through Medical Hypnoanalysis it is feasible to alter the essence of a cigarette from satisfying to unsatisfying. When this is accomplished troubles often linked to the termination of smoking have a tendency to be avoided. Castor oil (or other terrible tasting medication) may serve as an illustration. When a person gives up the intake of castor oil there are no withdrawal symptoms, and there is no want to compensate for the need of the medication in the course of overeating, sucking hard candies, etc.

It is imperative to verify just what personal need smoking satisfies. A number of smokers seek to fill a need to nurture themselves-lessen lonesomeness or get a "pick-up" at the start of or at some point in the day. Others feel smoking will alleviate stress or grant moments of relaxation. Still more feel cigarette smoking makes social contacts more relaxed. The difficulty is that a habit adopted to meet a particular need time and again proves destructive, eliminating the need by destroying the smoker. The risks entailed in smoking have been stressed for years. The aversion techniques of psychotherapy, when utilized in Medical Hypnoanalytic applications, can generate remarkable results. Information on why, when and where smoking is indulged can expose information useful in developing a smoking-cessation treatment.

Visualization

One of the most influential attributes of the human mind is the visualization facility. Numerous Medical Hypnoanalysts, working with countless types of problems, program clients to agree to the principle that, "What the mind can conceive, you can achieve!" This notion is widespread in fields of meditation, positive thinking, and others. Medical Hypnoanalysis can be of assistance increasing and focusing the powers of visualization. And in sight of the truth that visualization is commonly not fully formed in clients, and in view of the fact that it can be learned, Medical Hypnoanalysis can serve as a training modality.

In smoking-cessation programs the capacity to visualize one's self as a non-smoker, free from past effect of the practice, overflowing with fresh vigor, get-up-and-go and vivacity, is a main asset. Visualization enables the client to image, in the mind, cigarettes as disagreeable, bad tasting, foul smelling and repulsive. Similarly it is achievable to image and otherwise sense fresh breathing, healthy appearance, and sensitive tastes.

In the course of visualization a smoker can observe himself/herself as looking better, more energetic, in an enhanced physical condition, with easier breathing, stronger lungs and comparable advantages. Throughout Medical Hypnoanalysis senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste every one can be improved and used to amend reactions as required to accomplish goals.

Once a smoker has achieved victory in a smoking-cessation program it is essential to strengthen the procedures that led to the termination of the practice. Smoking habits are acquired over a extensive period of time. Even despite the fact that the smoker may have ceased smoking, the inclination is prone to still be full of life. However like the majority of activities, if not used, it tends to weaken and fade away. The Medical Hypnoanalyst will take actions to strengthen the programming for the duration of the period (conceivably a couple of months] mandatory for the habit to deteriorate, providing a made to order tape or tapes to sustain victory in anticipation of the inclination itself being vanished.

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Did you know that?

  • Physical effects of smoking, particularly on the cardiovascular system, are identifiable after just one cigarette?
  • Cigarette smoking is known to adversely affect nearly every system or function in the human body?
  • Cigarette smoking is by far the leading cause of preventable death in the US; that it is responsible for approximately 500,000 deaths each year; and that approximately one death in four - one death in two designated as "premature" - is attributed to smoking?
  • Smoking has been linked to diseases and disorders ranging from diabetes to cataracts and from psoriasis to impotence?
  • Cigarettes are the only legally available product that is harmful when used as intended. From The American Council on Science and Health

The dangers of smoking have been studied and analyzed for years. The detrimental effect of smoking on people's health and their activities is now public knowledge, and many people who have become addicted to smoking are now looking for ways to quit.

Most stop-smoking programs work at increasing the individual's strength to resist the desire to smoke. They rely on willpower, and for most people that is the worst method for quitting smoking. Willpower fluctuates like moods and emotions. One day it may be strong, the next day it may be weak.

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Why Smoke?

Do you have enough willpower to stop smoking? No! You don't! At least not yet!

Like moods and emotions, willpower fluctuates. On a down day you will go back to the habit, which in the past you thought made you feel better. It didn't and it won't. Its most positive contribution may be to help you heirs collect your life insurance earlier, if it isn't needed to pay heavy hospital costs. The choice is drugs (internal pollution) vs. natural (Medical Hypnoanalysis)

Should you try one of those medical stop smoking aids? Drug companies recommend the following. "Do not smoke while using these (drug) products. Do not use other nicotine-containing medications while using these products without first consulting your doctor. Too much nicotine in your body can cause heart problems or other dangerous side effects. You are warned: Before taking ZybanT tell your doctor if you have any history of seizures or head injuries. Limit or avoid consumption of alcoholic beverages. They can increase seizure risk. Do not take ZybanT if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant or are breast-feeding."

All of the drug information derived supplied here comes from the Fairview Foundation, on a pamphlet handed out at physicians offices to explain how drug treatment works.

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Method: Nicotine Patch

How it works: Each morning you have to apply a patch to your skin. It must be left on till bedtime. Preferably 24 hours 6-8 weeks, depending on how many cigarettes you smoked each day. May be used up to 14-20 weeks

Common side effects: You may get a mild skin rash where patch is applied. Other side effects include sleeping problems, mild nausea, or dizziness.

Prescription? No! But check with your doctor or pharmacist before using.

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Method: Nicotine Gum

How it works: Chew each piece slowly and "park" it between your cheek and gum. Each piece lasts 30 minutes. Use 9-15 pieces per day. 8-12 weeks, depending on how many cigarettes you smoked each day. May be used up to 6 months.

Common side effects: Some people have mouth pain, upset stomach or jaw pain. Other users report no side effects.

Prescription? No! But check with your doctor or pharmacist before using.

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Method: Nicotine Nasal Inhaler

How it works: Use 1 spray in each nostril. Do not use this spray more than 5 times per hour or more than 40 times in 24 hours. 6-8 weeks, depending on how heavily you used tobacco. May be used up to three months.

Common side effects: Some people experience runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, sore throat or burning or numbness in nose or throat.

Prescription? Yes!

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Method: Zyban (Nicotine-Free Medication)

How it works: Your doctor would prescribe this medication for you and give you precise instructions You can take this medication for 7-12 weeks. Do not stop taking it without notifying your doctor.

Common side effects: It may make you dizzy, so don't drive or operate machinery until you get used to the drugs effects. Other side effects may include dry mouth.

Prescription? Yes!

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Drug Dependence Ralph Nader's Public Citizen's Health Research

Extreme Caution

Bupropion has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for smoking cessation for people 18 years of age and older under the brand name Zyban. Zyban and Wellbutrin are exactly the same drug. Taking Zyban and Wellbutrin together will increase the risk of seizure. Higher doses increase likelihood of harmful effects. With doses more than 450 milligrams per day the risk of seizures increases tenfold and no one should take more than 450 mg per day. Bupropion was temporarily banned in the United States for that reason. People age 60 and over are more likely to experience adverse effects, such as heart complications. Due to age-related decrease in kidney and liver function, the lowest effective dose should be used.

Bupropion (byu pro pee on) is used to treat severe depression that is not caused by other drugs, alcohol, or emotional losses (such as death in the family). It can take four weeks to be effective. Bupropion controls, but does not cure depression. Although it has been used for several years in some people, the manufacturer does not recommend use beyond six weeks. Bupropion is related to amphetamines and diethylpropion (TENUATE, TEPANIL), but purportedly is not habit-forming. Although bupropion is preferred for the elderly by some doctors, it has not been studied much in older people.

Weight loss is a common side effect. A number of people become restless when taking bupropion.

The length of time it takes an antidepressant to work can overlap with the time of spontaneous recovery, especially if the depression is situational-caused by a death or other external circumstances. The majority of people lift themselves out of depression with friends, or activities such as exercise, work, reading, play, art, travel, and spiritual resources. If depression is not overcome by these measures, seek help from mental health professionals. . . Antidepressant drugs should be reserved for depression that is major and does not respond to psychotherapy alone.

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Warning: Special mental and physical adverse effects

Older adults are especially sensitive to the harmful anticholinergic effects of antidepressants such as bupropion. Drugs in this family should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Mental Effects', confusion, delirium, short-term memory problems, disorientation, and impaired attention. Physical Effects: dry mouth, constipation, difficulty urinating (especially for a man with an enlarged prostate), blurred vision, decreased sweating with increased body temperature, sexual dysfunction, and worsening of glaucoma."

According to the Public Citizen's Health Research Group, and Sidney M. Wolfe, MD, Larry D. Sasich, Pharm.D., MPH.; Rose-Ellen Hope, R.Ph. in the book Worst Pills, Best Pills, pub by Pocket Books 1999

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Are There Safe Alternatives to cigarettes? No!

Cigar smokers are:

410 times more likely to die from laryngeal, oral or esophageal cancer than non-smokers. 23 times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers.

Spit tobacco:

One dip of spit tobacco has 3 to 4 times as much highly addictive nicotine as one cigarette. Spit tobacco use causes a variety of forms of oral cancer, sometimes developing within just a few years.

Nicotine Gum and the patch:

Does it really make much sense to alter the method by which you inject nicotine into your system? Is this not just another way to market this highly addictive substance? Would you consider it a drug treatment success to go from snorting to mainlining? Where does the nicotine come from? Tobacco manufacturers perhaps?

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Smoking Linked to Cognitive* Decline in Elderly

*Cognitive is a term that describes the process people use for remembering, reasoning, understanding, problem solving, evaluating, and using judgment. Cognition, more simply, is what a person knows and understands, or the process of knowing. It includes all aspects of perceiving, thinking, and remembering.

According to a large, multi-center study published in the March 23, 2004 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, smoking speeds up cognitive decline in the elderly. The rate of decline was found to be an average of five times higher per year in current smokers than those who never smoked.

Greater cognitive decline occurred with higher cigarette pack per year exposure, a calculation involving the number of years someone has smoked and the reported average daily number of cigarettes. This was significant mainly for the former smokers and not the current smokers. Former smokers showed twice the decline rate of those who never smoked. Smoking could affect cognitive function through various mechanisms. Chronic tobacco use causes arteriosclerosis and hypertension. This, and other effects of smoking, increases the risk of stroke and small, "silent" brain infarctions, according to study author Alewijn Ott, MD, of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

A family history of dementia did not influence the greater decline in cognition found among those who were smokers.

While more research is being planned, there are three very obvious lessons to be learned from this landmark study:

1. If you currently smoke, stop.

2. If you do not currently smoke, do not start.

3. How you feel is not a good indicator of health because all of the people experiencing cognitive decline did so slowly. Their health declined without symptoms for years.

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