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See through the smoke

by Simone McClenaughan | 13 May 2013

Smoking is the leading risk factor and contributor to disease and death in Australia, with 4000 chemicals including 69 carcinogens rolled up in each cigarette.

And yet, 2.8 million Australians are still lighting up every day. If you are one of them, read on to find out why you do it and how you can give it up.

“As long as there have been people, there has been drug use,” says Dr Ronald McCoy from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The nicotine found in tobacco is a drug. “Even though it is legally obtainable, it is still a drug,” says Dr McCoy.

Almost three million Australians smoke on a daily basis. That’s more people than the entire population of Western Australia.

One of the main reasons people light up for the first time is peer influence, and continuing to do so is often due to nicotine dependence.

“There are many complex reasons as to why people start and keep smoking,” says Dr McCoy. “Smoking is a behaviour controlled by the drug substance.

It can become a physical and psychological dependence.”

The difficulty in convincing smokers to butt out once and for all is that their addiction makes it hard for them to convince themselves of the harm smoking does to their bodies.

“There is a large difference between belief and conviction,” explains Dr McCoy. This is because the belief that smoking is harmful is based on knowledge and logic, yet conviction is based on emotion. “Everyone believes that smoking isn’t good for you. But not everyone is convinced about it.”

Why you need to quit now

There’s no sugar-coating this: smoking is incredibly bad. “There is no such thing as a safe level of smoking,” warns Dr McCoy. “Every cigarette is taking minutes off your life.”

The leading cause of preventable death in Australia, smoking will kill 50 per cent of people who smoke now and don’t quit. A quarter of those people will be aged between 35 and 69.

If that’s not reason enough to quit, consider this:

  • Smoking is the primary cause of cancer and is responsible for 85 per cent of lung cancers. Smokers are 20 times more likely to develop lung cancer, which is fatal for nine out of 10 people. Mouth and throat cancers are also a direct result of smoking.
  • Lighting up can double your chances of having a stroke and increase your risk of a heart attack six-fold. You’re also going to live at least 10 years less than a non-smoker.
  • Emphysema is caused by smoking. The air sacs in the lungs are destroyed which makes breathing extremely difficult.
  • Despite people believing they are smoking to relieve stress, smokers tend to be more stressed than non-smokers.
  • Smoking causes premature skin ageing and wrinkles.
  • Smoking can lead to blindness, loss of teeth and poor hearing.
  • Male smokers have a higher risk of erectile dysfunction. Female smokers increase their risk of cervical cancer.
  • Smoking impedes circulation, which can lead to gangrene and limb amputation.

Two times lucky

“In the 70's, it was trendy to smoke. Everyone did it. All my friends did. I was in my early 20s and I did too – heavily,” recalls Kenny Turner, now 65.

“When I was 40 I decided smoking was silly, so I went cold turkey. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. The mood swings were severe, I was anxious and very cranky. But after a while, it became relatively easy not to smoke.”

For 15 years, Kenny didn’t touch a cigarette – meaning his risk of heart disease and stroke was back on par with a non-smoker. But when he became stressed at a new job, he started up again. He smoked for six years before realising he had to quit – again. “I did it with the help of my doctor," he says. Five days after starting medication, Kenny stopped smoking and hasn’t touched a cigarette in four years.

“You have to quit. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself. I don’t know why I didn’t do it – and stick to it – sooner.”

How to quit

Techniques include:

  • Cold turkey: which means stopping without any replacement therapies.
  • Cutting down to quit: which means slowly reducing the number of cigarettes smoked.
  • Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): where cigarettes are swapped for patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers or tablets.
  • Prescribed medications.
  • Professional advice and support such as counselling, a quit smoking group, calling Quitline on 13 78 48 or joining My Journey at www.icanquit.com.au
  • Alternative treatment such as acupuncture, hypnotherapy, electronic or herbal cigarettes.

While there are anecdotal reports of these helping some people to quit, there is no scientific evidence that these alternative treatments are successful.

“You can quit at any age. It doesn’t matter how old you are,” says Lafontaine. “Never quit on quitting.”

You can quit

As people age, they often feel as if it is too hard to quit, or that they’ve been smoking for so long that they may as well keep it up because they are going to die of something. The biggest challenge for people over the age of 55 trying to quit is confidence.

“Some people lack confidence because they didn’t succeed at previous quit attempts,” says Lafontaine. The trick, she says, is to take small steps and change your perception of failure. “An unsuccessful attempt is not a failure. It’s a chance to learn. It’s normal to have multiple attempts at quitting.”

Dr McCoy agrees. “Smoking is a potent and powerful behaviour. It might take four or five attempts – or even more – to do it.”

There are so many ways to quit these days and Dr McCoy says this can help with success. “See your doctor; he or she can help tailor a personal treatment plan


Are you in the process of quitting? Share your story and tips for others on our Facebook page.