'Call It Quits' helps kick the habit, beat the odds

Marsha Akins, a 40-year-old San Francisco nurse, never thought she could quit smoking. She didn’t even try since lighting her first cigarette at age 13.

“I never even considered cigarettes a drug, and nobody could convince me I was hooked,” she said.

According to Suzanne Harris, R.N., a clinical hypnotherapist and former smoker who leads Mills-Peninsula’s Call It Quits program, nicotine is in fact a highly addictive substance. This explains why, although the dangers are well known, the habit still costs the United States $150 billion a year in health care and lost productivity.

“Most of us started smoking when we were adolescents, when it takes less time to become addicted,” Harris said. But when Akins joined the program in 1997, she learned she was addicted to more than the nicotine itself.

“I was hooked on needing to have something in my hand, even though my children have asthma — even though I felt guilty holding my baby and smoking,” she said.
Akins has been smoke-free for five years. She now considers smoking “the worst and hardest habit of all to break.” Although smoking has become an epidemic in women, Harris says women can and do kick the habit.

“We have a 50 to 60 percent quit rate for all participants, in the initial program” she said. Many others quit later in the ongoing relapse prevention support group, she adds.

“The key is a nonjudgmental approach that focuses on understanding the nicotine habit and each person’s relationship to tobacco,” Harris said. “Then we structure an appropriate program.”
Akins said group support made it possible for her to succeed. On occasion, she still attends the relapse prevention group.

“Quitting really boosted my self-esteem,” she said. “My house is clean, I sing in the choir now, and it feels really good to take a deep breath.”

She also became a licensed vocational nurse, an accomplishment she attributes to having a clear mind free of thinking about the next cigarette.

Here are some tips for smokers who are ready to quit:

  • Set a quit date and stick to it.
  • Get support and encouragement. Family, friends, group or individual counseling are all potential resources.
  • Practice new skills and behaviors. Change your routine, reduce stress, drink lots of water.
  • Get medications to help you through withdrawal and use them correctly. Consult your doctor about what works best for you.
  • Make plans for how to deal with difficult situations. Avoid alcohol and other smokers, keep healthy foods close by, stay active.
    When cravings hit, Harris recommends deep abdominal breathing, trying peppermint toothpicks, drinking water or eating carrot sticks.

    “If you’re concerned about weight gain, increased exercise is the best prevention,” she said.
    For more information or to register for the next class, call 696 4308.