Explore options that are funded by the state. For example, as a result of a tobacco settlement, the state of Pennsylvania has invested several resources to help you quit comfortably. You can call several toll-free Quit Lines to get advice on how to quit or to check on the location of the community cessation program nearest you. Feel free to contact your local health community to find out more about their treatment partnerships.
Smoking Treatment
If you have an addiction to smoking, it is best to recognize the problem and work on a plan to stop smoking for your overall health improvement. To quit smoking, you can create motivational tips for weaning yourself off cigarettes by a certain date and replacing that habit with a healthier habit such as walking or chewing sugar-free gum. Learn more from our experts how to create a cessation plan.
Recently Answered
-
1 AnswerA
There are many ways to quit smoking, but no single way works for everyone. You need to keep trying until you find a specific treatment or combination of treatments that best suits your individual needs and gives you the best chance of quitting permanently. Most importantly, don’t give up trying to quit. Seek out people who will offer you support and encouragement.
-
1 AnswerA
Most smokers try to quit several times before succeeding. But many, many people succeed. In fact, the number of former U.S. smokers has exceeded the number of current smokers since 2002. Smokers can learn from previous quit attempts and be better prepared to overcome the specific challenges (sometimes called triggers) that cause them to start smoking again. With continued encouragement and support, many people keep trying until they succeed in stopping smoking for good.
-
3 AnswersA
Penn Medicine answeredSee All 3 AnswersCigarettes deliver the "free-base" form of nicotine to the brain. Just like crack cocaine is more addictive than plain cocaine, free-base nicotine is much more powerful than plain nicotine. That's why even the idea of giving up cigarettes can be so depressing. The good news is that, unlike many other drugs, nicotine addiction can be treated fairly easily and effectively. All you need to do is ask for help.
-
1 AnswerA
Smoking and mental illness often coexist together. The tools used to quit smoking in a person with a history of mental illness are no different than those used in those without this history; however, in some cases those tools may need to be used in different ways.
Generally, exercise, counseling and appropriate use of nicotine supplementation such as the nicotine patch are safe for most people with mental illness. Certain medications may also be used to help in quitting smoking and some of these medications are also helpful in certain mental illnesses. Before you begin a program to quit smoking, consult your doctor. You can also call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free help quitting, and go to www.smokefree.gov for a step-by-step quit guide.
-
1 AnswerA
More attention is needed to help people with mental illness quit smoking. Here are some reasons it is difficult for them to quit:
- Some mental health facilities still allow smoking and allow smoking as a reward for progress.
- Nicotine has mood-altering effects that put people with mental illness at higher risk for cigarette use and nicotine addiction.
- People with mental illness are more likely to have stressful living conditions, be low income and lack access to health insurance, healthcare and help quitting. All of these factors make it more challenging to quit.
- Evidence shows that there has been direct tobacco marketing to people with mental illness and other vulnerable groups of people.
-
1 AnswerA
Like other smokers, smokers with mental illness are interested in quitting, are able to quit, and have a better chance of quitting successfully when they have access to proven stop-smoking treatments.
With careful monitoring, quitting smoking does not interfere with treatments for mental illness and can be part of the treatment. People with mental illness face challenges in quitting smoking and may benefit from extra help to succeed in quitting. This can include more counseling as well as longer use or a combination of stop-smoking medicines.
-
1 AnswerA
Smokers who quit have immediate health benefits:
- Risk for a heart attack drops sharply just one year after quitting.
- After two to five years, the chance of stroke can fall to about the same as a nonsmoker's.
- Within five years of quitting, the chance of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and bladder is cut in half.
- Ten years after quitting smoking, the risk for dying from lung cancer drops by half.
-
1 AnswerA
Your health will start to improve almost immediately after quitting smoking. Within 20 minutes after quitting your blood pressure will begin to return to normal as the nicotine leaves your body. After eight hours, the oxygen levels in your blood will start to return to normal as the carbon monoxide leaves your body. After just one day your risk of a heart attack begins to drop. After two weeks your circulation begins to show improvement. In addition to feeling and breathing better, after one year your risk of heart disease drops to half of what it would have been if you were still smoking. There are many, many more benefits than just these, but they all start soon after you quit.
-
1 AnswerA
Hard-hitting media campaigns have been proven to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and to motivate smokers to quit. The Institute of Medicine, National Cancer Institute, and Surgeon General have all recommended a national media campaign as part of a comprehensive approach for ending the tobacco use epidemic. Numerous studies have consistently shown that ads carrying strong negative messages about health consequences are more effective than many other forms of advertising, such as humorous or emotionally neutral advertisements.