Published January 2006

Kicking the habit
New year, new law spurring smokers to quit

Snohomish County Business Journal/ KIMBERLY HILDEN Rebecca Rose, a registered respiratory therapist with Providence Everett Medical Center, puts Bob Neumann through his paces on a treadmill as part of his pulmonary rehab program. Neumann, a former smoker, inspires others to quit the addiction, Rose said.

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

For smokers who have contemplated putting an end to their nicotine addiction, a combination of forces both temporal and regulatory may make now the right time to kick butts for good.

“It seems as though New Year’s resolutions (bring) some of my busiest months,” said Rebecca Rose, a registered respiratory therapist who works with Providence Everett Medical Center’s “Stop Smoking Toolshop,” a four-week smoking-cessation class. “Not in December — the holidays are stressful — but January, the calls keep pouring in.”

Calls for class information also are on the rise in the wake of the passage and implementation of Initiative 901, she said, estimating a 5 percent increase in inquiries as of early December.

The initiative, which went into effect Dec. 8, bans smoking in and around public places, including bars, taverns and other establishments that previously were permitted to have smoking areas under Washington state’s 1985 Clean Indoor Air Act. I-901 includes a 25-foot smoke-free barrier around entrances, exits, ventilation intakes and other openings to public areas to further minimize exposure to secondhand smoke.

That buffer zone has made smoking an inconvenience — not just for smokers going to a tavern or a bowling alley but also for smokers who have become accustomed to taking a quick smoke break during the workday.

To comply with the new ban, many employers have had to rethink their designated smoking areas, with some putting up special smoking tents 25 feet or more from workplace entrances and others deciding to simply make the entire workplace premises smoke free.

That inconvenience factor, coupled with the rising cost of cigarettes and the health risks of smoking, is creating a new sense of urgency in smokers who want to kick the habit, Rose said.

“More people are saying, ‘I’ve got to quit, I need to quit,’” she said.

‘The universal risk factor’
It’s a mantra that has been gaining ground for decades as the cost of smoking, both to one’s health and to the overall economy, have become clear.

According to the American Lung Association report “Trends in Tobacco Use,” between 1965 and 2002, the prevalence of smoking cessation has increased at least 60 percent in the United States, with an estimated 46 million adults being former smokers in 2002.

That still leaves more than 45.8 million adults who continue to smoke cigarettes, an act that “has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity and premature mortality worldwide,” the report says.

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly one in every five deaths is related to smoking, with cigarette smoking linked to cancers of the lung, larynx, oral cavity, throat and esophagus; development of cancers of the bladder, pancreas, cervix, kidney, stomach and some leukemias; heart disease; bronchitis; emphysema; and asthma.

That doesn’t include the risks of inhaling secondhand smoke, which, according to the Cancer Society, is responsible annually for up to 40,000 deaths from heart disease, 3,000 lung cancer deaths and between 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory-tract infections in children younger than 18 months of age.

It also is linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome and an increased number and severity of asthma attacks in as many as 1 million asthmatic children, the cancer organization said.

Smoking is “just the universal risk factor — heart disease, diabetes, asthma, a number of cancers,” said Dr. Sallie Dacey, a co-chair of Group Health Cooperative’s tobacco expert committee, which oversees the health-maintenance organization’s work on tobacco.

Help for kicking the habit
“We have an incredibly integrated program here at Group Health,” Dacey said, noting that tobacco education is offered as part of cardiac care, asthma care, diabetes care as well as pediatric care.

For patients trying to quit smoking, Group Health offers free access to the Free & Clear program. Formerly part of Group Health, Free & Clear became a national, for-profit smoking-cessation program in 2003, offering support via telephone from experienced counselors as well as recommendations for prescription medication as needed to help clients break the habit.

“Quitting can be difficult. Free & Clear is a very helpful adjunct to getting them through,” Dacey said.

In response to I-901, Group Health has made a special effort to help its employees who want to quit smoking by offering free nicotine-replacement therapy kits for those interested, she said, noting that “they are being received wonderfully, and people want them right away.”

Free & Clear is just one of a number of smoking cessation options available.

The Washington state Department of Health’s Tobacco Quit Line is another. The program includes a confidential, toll-free number to call to connect with smoking-cessation specialists who can help smokers create a personalized quit plan, refer smokers to other smoking cessation resources and mail a Tobacco Quit Kit to the caller’s home.

According to the state agency, almost 70,000 Washington residents have called the Quit Line, 877-270-STOP, for help.

In Snohomish County, a number of health-care providers hold classes throughout the year, such as Providence’s “Stop Smoking Toolshop.”

“We call it the ‘Toolshop’ because I’ve incorporated every tool from every program that I’m aware of as well as clients on what has been effective in helping people quit,” said Rose, whose average class size is between 10 and 15.

One of the tools is called “Reality” and shows the effect smoking has on the body by displaying human organs that have been ravaged by cigarettes. It’s an effective tool that stays on people’s minds long after they have put on gloves and touched the organs, Rose said.

She also has a certified hypnotherapist come in for a session, as well as former smokers who have been through the program, who share their experiences.

“They offer so much just by their experience, strength and hope,” said Rose, herself a former smoker.

That hope is key, as on average, it can take up to eight attempts to quit successfully, she said.

“So many people, when they don’t make it the first time, they’re discouraged — ‘I’ve failed.’ You just encourage them to keep at it,” Rose said.

“For far too long in the medical community, we’ve been judgmental with our clients — ‘You need to quit’ — without having any understanding of the struggle that they go through,” she said. “We’ve got to support people to get them free of this addiction.”

Back to the top/January 2006 Main Menu