Smoking Cessation

Smoking Cessation
Introduction

First to understand smoking cessation we must understand what cigarettes and what smoking them entail. A cigarette contains many harmful compounds; the smoke alone from a cigarette contains over 4000 chemicals, 43 of which are known carcinogens. Smoking is estimated to be the cause of approximately 7, 000 deaths in Ireland each year. Around 30% of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking and smoking causes illnesses such as lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and emphysema. The main addictive compound in a cigarette is nicotine, it has known psychoactive effects. It is inhaled and the compounds are absorbed into the blood stream via the lungs, the nicotine stimulates the release of adrenalin which stimulates the body and raises the blood pressure, respiration and heart rate. Nicotine also causes the release of dopamine in the brain which is known as a happy chemical, this makes the user feel a sense of euphoria. Users report a feeling of relaxation, sharpness, calmness and alertness. Because of its psychoactive properties and its addictive nature it is classed as a drug. Like any drug giving up nicotine will cause withdrawal effects such as: 1. Irritable, cranky 2. Insomnia 3. Fatigue 4. Inability to Concentrate 5. Headache 6. Cough 7. Sore throat 8. Constipation, gas, stomach pain 9. Dry mouth 10. Sore tongue and/or gums

Main Body
Smoking is dangerous and it kills people, as well as that it can exacerbate underlying conditions. I learned this from my personal expierence having being diagnosed with Ankoliosing spondylitis recently. Smoking and having this condition increases my chance of lung scaring, smoking also exacerbates other conditions such as asthma, heart problems and a wide range of others. The world health organisation have released a policy on No smoking called M power which I have coverd below. In March 2004 our government brought in the smoking ban which meant no more smoking in shops, bars, workplace etc. This ban had a huge impact on helping towards a smoke free environment. According to the world health organisation passive smoking kills 600,000 people worldwide including 165,000 children, passive smoking was a big problem in Ireland until the smoking ban was introduced. The Irish government are currently trying to bring in legalisation that will make it illegal to smoke in cars, as parents are smoking in cars with young kids and it can also be a distraction for the driver. Raising the cost of cigarettes is also doing a lot towards a smoke free environment, the main reason I am quitting is because of the price. The government has also made Smoking cessation classes available which take place in various locations in Ireland. These classes are available for free on the HSE and help many people quit, some of the taxes from selling cigarettes go towards funding these classes. You can be referred to these classes by medical professionals, our role in providing care as Health Care Assistants includes referring any people wishing to quit to the afore mentioned classes, with the patient/clients permission. In the place I am doing work placement several of the clients smoke and it is my plan to inform them about the smoking cessation classes and help them quit, if they are willing. There are several aids available to people who attend the classes and they are classed into two categories Nicotine Replacement Therapy’s (NRT) and non-nicotine medications. Every individual who attends these classes will get 1. A Carbon monoxide screening 2. An addiction assessment 3. Given help preparing a quit plan 4. Help thought out the first year 5. A certificate at their 1 year anniversary

M power

The World Health organisation have a policy called M power which is available on their website. It has some very useful information on smoking cessation. Their main interventions are to: Monitor tobacco use

Protect others from tobacco smoke Offer help to quit Warn about the dangers of tobacco Enforce bans on tobacco ads, promotion and sponsorship Raise tax on tobacco products

Conclusion
In Ireland the smoking ban is in place and helps to protect others from tobacco smoke and fines are in place for those who break the law. As mentioned above Ireland also provides a smoking cessation service on the HSE and there are several websites such as ash.ie out there to offer help to quit. In 2008 the government also started putting warnings on the cigarette boxes. There is a complete ban on advertising tobacco products in the media and over the counter advertising is now banned and all tobacco related products must be stored away out of sight. The government also have raised the price of a pack of cigarettes to €9.35 and they plan on raising it to €10.00 by the end of the year. Education is also an important part of helping to reduce the % of people who smoke, there are several T.V advertisements in place which use a shock factor such as showing the effect of smoking on the lungs and informing you of the dangers involved and the inherent death risk/dangers. All in all I believe we are doing a good job at following the guidelines set out by the World Health Organisation

Refferences

ASH. (2012). Action on Smoking and Health. Available: http://www.ash.ie/. Last accessed 1st August 2012.

World Health Orginisation. (2010). M power. Available: http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/en/. Last accessed 30th July 2012.
St Jame's Hospital. (2011). St Jame's Hospital. Available: http://www.stjames.ie/Departments/DepartmentsA-Z/R/RespiratoryAssessmentUnit/GPInformation/. Last accessed 27th July 2012.
HSE. (2010). National No Smoking Day. Available: http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/News/Campaigns/WESTASHWED.pdf. Last accessed 1st August 2012.