So much has been written about smoking that virtually all readers will be aware of its dangers, particularly to the heart. Fortunately, fewer and fewer individuals are now smoking, although regrettably there are too many young people, especially females, taking up the habit in this decade. Cigarette smoke increases the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, causes cholesterol levels to rise and definitely contributes to the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. The good news is that the risk of sudden cardiac death and heart attack begins to decline quite soon after stopping smoking, probably within a month or two. The risk thereafter declines toward a level seen in a "never smoker" probably within five to seven years of quitting. It is therefore very important to emphasize that it is never too late to stop smoking. You will, of course, not need to be reminded that there are a great many health hazards to smoking other than causing coronary heart disease and sudden death, including lung cancer and many other cancers, chronic, bronchitis, premature aging, and the psychological costs of nicotine addiction.
How do you stop smoking?
We do not intend to give a detailed description of all of the methods to help smokers kick the habit. Any of these, including "stopping cold turkey" (which can be surprisingly effective for many), using nicotine substitutes such as gum or patches, hypnosis, acupuncture, the use of support materials (e.g., tapes and videos), support groups, and yoga or biofeedback, can be helpful for individual patients. The common denominator for all methods of quitting is the desire, the will and the commitment to stop. This requires an active decision on the part of the smoker; and trying to stop smoking because others want you to will generally not result in success. The fact that psychological preparation for quitting is crucial has not been sufficiently emphasized. The same kind of psychological preparation is required as for any other kind of behavior change, including adopting a new dietary habit, beginning a regular exercise program, and so on.
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