According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke. Yet new findings released on November 14, 2019, in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report show smoking among U.S. adults was at an all-time low of 13.7 percent in 2018. This represents a two-thirds decline in the more than 50 years since the first surgeon general’s report warned of the health consequences of smoking. “This marked decline in cigarette smoking is the achievement of a consistent and coordinated effort by the public health community and our many partners,” said the CDC’s director, Robert R. Redfield, MD, in a press release. “Yet, our work is far from over. The health benefits of quitting smoking are significant, and we are committed to educating Americans about the steps they can take to become tobacco-free.” According to the CDC report, use of any tobacco product in 2018 was highest among:
Adults 25 to 44 years old (at 23.8 percent in that population)Adults with a General Education Development (GED) certificate (41.4 percent)Adults who were uninsured (29.9 percent), insured by Medicaid (27.8 percent), or received some other public insurance (23 percent)Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (32.3 percent), multiracial (25.4 percent), white (21.9 percent), or black adults (19.3 percent)Lesbian, gay, or bisexual adults (29.2 percent)Adults with an annual household income under $35,000 (26.2 percent)Adults living with a disability (24.3 percent)Adults living in the Midwest (23.6 percent) or the South (21.4 percent)Adults divorced, separated, or widowed (22.6 percent), or adults who were single, never married, or not living with a partner (21.1 percent)Adults who reported serious psychological distress (36.7 percent)
Of all products smoked, cigarettes are still the most used product, according to the CDC release. Other popular products include:
Cigars, cigarillos, or filtered little cigarsE-cigarettesSmokeless tobaccoPipes, water pipes, or hookahs
The use of e-cigarettes increased during 2017–2018 primarily because of an increase in e-cigarette use among young adults (18–24 years old).
Work Still Needed, Despite Progress
Although the new statistics on nonsmokers are certainly impressive, there’s a lot more to be done, as one out of seven adults still smoke. “Efforts to combat the tobacco epidemic have saved millions of lives since the first surgeon general’s report in 1964, but paradoxically cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, still costing 480,000 lives each year,” says the American Cancer Society’s vice president of tobacco control, Cliff Douglas. According to Douglas, “Smoking accounts for nearly one in three cancer deaths, and smoking rates remain disproportionately high among certain at-risk and frequently overlapping populations.” These populations include:
Alaska NativesAmerican IndiansMembers of the LGBT populationThose living with mental illness or experiencing substance use disordersThose who live below the federal poverty lineThose with less education
“Eliminating disparities in tobacco use by more effectively reaching these populations will be vital to attacking the tobacco epidemic in the coming years,” says Douglas. While quitting smoking at any age is beneficial for your health, it is also a tough challenge. “Blame nicotine, the main drug in tobacco, for smoking addiction,” says John Berg, PhD, a Florida-based licensed clinical psychologist. “Your brain quickly adapts to nicotine and develops a tolerance for it. And when you develop a tolerance to a drug, you’re usually addicted.”
Strategies for Kicking the Habit
Dr. Berg contends there are different ways to stop smoking. Some methods work better than others. The best strategy is to choose a method that will challenge you to quit but also one that you can achieve. Prospective methods to stop smoking include:
Cold Turkey
According to data published on April 13, 2017, in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, many people who try to stop smoking give up cigarettes all at once, without outside support (no aids, therapy, or medicine).
Behavioral Therapy
“Behavioral therapy consists of visiting a therapist who will help you find the most effective strategy to stop smoking,” says Berg. “The therapist will help you to identify your triggers, come up with ways to get through strong cravings, and provide emotional support when you need it most.”
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Nicotine gum, transdermal nicotine patches, inhalers, and lozenges are nicotine replacement therapies (called NRT). Replacement therapy works by giving you nicotine without your having to smoke cigarettes.
Medicine
Data has shown that using FDA-approved cessation medicine can double your chance of quitting successfully. Some medicines reported in the American Family Physician that can help you quit smoking include bupropion SR (Zyban), varenicline tartrate (Chantix) and Nicotrol (oral inhalers and nose sprays). Ask your doctor if these prescription medicines may help you.
Combination Treatments
Using a combination of treatment methods can increase your chances of quitting. For example, using both a nicotine patch and gum may be better than a patch alone or just the gum. Or you might benefit from both behavioral therapy and nicotine replacement therapy. People who use a combination of treatment options have a greater chance of successfully stopping smoking than those who use just one kind of treatment. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about effective ways to stop. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Findings published in the journal American Family Physician revealed that nearly one-third of those who try a cigarette become addicted. For immediate support to stop smoking, call 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669). This is a free telephone support service sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that can help people who want to stop smoking or using tobacco. Callers are routed to their state quit lines, which offer several types of quit information and services.
