We All Breathe The Same Air

"...let us not be blind to our differences, but let us also direct attention to our common interests and the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." —John F. Kennedy American University, Washington, D.C. 10 June, 1963

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IS IT TIME TO CALL IT QUITS ON CHANTIX?

The Secretary of the Department of Veterans

Affairs will appear before Congress Wed. July 9th, 2008

to answer questions about why his administration

continued to recruit veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

for studies of pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide

and other violent side-effects. The controversial

tests were the subject of an ABC News/

Washington Times investigation last month. [read more]

Chantix Alternative - How to Quit Smoking Without Using Chantix. Click Here.

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CHANTIX TOO DANGEROUS FOR PILOTS SAYS FAA

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is no
longer permitting pilots or air traffic controllers
to use the smoking cessation drug Chantix, citing
potential side effects that could pose a threat to
the safe operation of aircraft. [...]

Chantix Alternative - How to Quit Smoking Without Using Chantix. Click Here.

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What If I Failed to Quit Smoking In The Past?

Everyone has failed at one time or the
other..so what?

You past has nothing to do with your
future. You can do whatever you
set yourself to do.

But first you must believe..[read more]

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PLEASE GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK

I have been writing this blog about quitting
smoking for a while and I have been encourage
by the people who have read it and left comments.

I was wondering if you could once again give me
some feedback to make this blog better?

Please click here to complete this brief anonymous survey

GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK (Click Here)

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SOME YOUNG MEN BELIEVE IT IS COOL TO SMOKE - BUT NOT AFTER THEY READ THIS POST

by Antonio Howell, MD

Getting young people and teens to quit
smoking is a tough enough. But here is
some ammo for young men who smoke.

Studies provide strong indirect evidence
that smoking may affect penile erection.
The study results were inferred from
data gathered from a retrospective chart
check from 860 male patients aged
between 18 and 44 visited during the
period January 1999 to December 2002.

It may make some smart enough young
men to think twice about lighting up again.

SOURCE:
*Natali A., et al. Heavy smoking is an important risk
factor for erectile dysfunction in young men.
International Journal of Impotence Research (2005) 17, 227–230.

*He, J., et al. Cigarette Smoking and Erectile Dysfunction among Chinese Men without Clinical Vascular Disease. American Journal of Epidemiology. 166(7):803-809, October 1, 2007.

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SMOKING HINDERS YOUR MEMORY?

by: Antonio Howell, MD

It is a medical rule of thumb: What is good
for the heart is good for the brain. Likewise
I find what is bad for the heart is bad for
the brain too.

Middle-aged smokers are more prone
to memory problems than their non-
smoking peers, a new French study
suggests. (see complete story here)

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IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY AND TRY AGAIN?

by: Antonio Howell, MD

Logic has not worked, scare tactics have not worked
either. So now the city of Metropolis will try to bribe
you to quit smoking.

The city of Metropolis, Ill. will pay city workers
$1,000 apiece if they can stay off smokes for a year.
(see complete story here).

What will they try next if this doesn't work, either?

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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE SUPERBOWL AND QUITTING SMOKING?

by: Antonio Howell, MD

Ignoring is something we have
become very good at doing.

We can ignore our teachers, ignore our
siblings, and ignore our parents and
everyone else who wants our attention.

A friend can ignore you as she pretends
to listen; spouses ignore each other
(very commonly, unfortunately).

Everybody is guilty of ignoring at some
time or another. And, we are especially good at ignoring TV
commercials.

Have you ever switched the TV channel while a commercial
was playing, turned down the volume, or even left the
room during a commercial?

Of course, you have, and we all have done it simply because
TV commercials have become something we actually try very
hard to ignore. I mean, if there is something that people WANT
to ignore, it is commercials. For some, it even becomes a sport.
People go out and buy expensive TV services such as TIVO
just to skip the commercials and brag to friends about how
they watched such and such and skipped through every
single commercial.

The exception to this rule is Super Bowl Sunday; something
magical happens on that day. "Did you see that commercial
last night?", is a common question the following day. "No,
I missed that one" ,someone would respond very upset. Or,
"Yeah! That was a good one", another would reply with a
smile.

Why is it that during Super Bowl Sunday we WANT to
watch commercials? Because, for whatever reason, the
commercials have become a part of the show. And, as a
matter of fact, they are just as important as the game
for many people. Commercials, all of a sudden, matter
and are NOT ignored.

One of the hardest things a health care professional does
is talk to patients about quitting smoking.

Why? Because (and we are all guilty of this) most patients
ignore what their doctors say unless it is something that is
important to them.

Unless the doctor is talking about something meaningful,
in other words something that immediately matters to
the patients, she will be ignored, in through one ear and
out the other.

So, it is important for the health care professional to help
the patient to care about quitting smoking.

Lecturing to a patient about quitting smoking is useless.

The doctor needs to enable the patient to walk through
the door and say, "Dr I want to quit smoking now".

If there is a piece of information that would likely help
get the patient's attention to quit smoking, then, that
information should be shared with the patient in a way
that is meaningful and easy to grasp.

For example, telling a smoker that her lungs
have aged significantly because of her smoking
improves the likelihood of her quitting smoking[1].

Doctor: Mrs. Jones your test results are back, and even
though you are only 35, your lungs' age is 70 because of
your smoking. Maybe you should quit smoking, Mrs Jones.

Mrs. Jones: Hmmm...maybe, I should doctor?

Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in London did just that in a study
involving 561 current smokers.

Just performing a spirometry test ( which takes about 30 min).
And sharing the results in practical terms made the topic matter
to the patient. Because, nobody wants to get old prematurely and
sharing this particular information got the patient's attention and
caused them to listen. And as a result the quit smoking rate
doubled among the smokers told about their advance lung age.



SOURCE:
Parkes, G; et al. Effect on smoking quit rate of telling patients their lung age:
the Step2quit randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2008 March 15; 336(7644):
598–600.

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CAN SMOKING LEAD TO ANXIETY?

by: Antonio Howell, MD

Smoking is a disease creating habit that has more
and more diseases that it causes piled on everyday.

The latest is the anxiety disorders.

There is the common assumption that for smokers the
act of smoking relieves anxiety. When actually the
opposite is true, smoking is a risk factor for severe
anxiety.

Smoking is an independent risk factor for severe anxiety.

Source:
VAN DER VELDEN, P G, et al. Smoking as a risk factor for mental health disturbances after a disaster : A prospective comparative study. 2007, vol. 68, no1, pp. 87-92.

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GET A QUIT BUDDY

by: Antonio Howell, MD

"No man is an island" wrote John Donne.
We are social creatures and do much
better when we are in a society.

As a matter of fact smoking is as much
social activity as it is a habit or addiction.

Social support helps in whatever we do.

So it is no suprise to learn that "individual
counseling from a smoking cessation
specialist may help smokers to make a
successful attempt to stop smoking".

If you do not have a counselor find a friend
or quit buddy to help you make that change.


SOURCE:
Lancaster, T et. al.Individual behavioural counselling for smoking cessation.Cochrane Rev Abstract. 2007

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TIME LOST WHEN YOU SMOKE?

by: Antonio Howell, MD

So how much of your time is lost due to smoking?

If you smoke a pack a day for three years, you
just shortened your lifespan by 167 days.

If each cigarette reduces your lifespan by
11 minutes, in 10 years, smoking a pack a
day trims 1 year and 193 days off of your
life, according to Health Grade's calculator.

However, the American Cancer Society says
you lose 13 to 14 years of life, compared
with non-smokers. [...]

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YOU CAN ONLY QUIT IFF YOU WANT TO QUIT SMOKING?

by: Antonio Howell, MD

I love going to the movies. Ever since I
was a teenager, I would anxiously await
a movie's opening day and go with friends
to watch.

I must have been 13 years
old when a buddy and I went to watch
"Rocky II" for about 5 hours straight.

How could we do that? Well once the
movie finished we just stayed in our
seats and watched it again and again.
One of my most funnest moments.
(btw I know funnest is not a real word).

I share this silly and slightly embarrassing story
to illustrate a point. The difference between
doing something you enjoy versus something
you don't.

The difference between doing what you
want to do and doing what you don't want to do
is like night and day. There difference is
as big as an ocean. Like black and white;
ying and yang.

There is simply no other way to get two
thirteen year olds to sit still for 5 hours.
If you don't believe me ask a high school
teacher.

So what does this have to do with smoking?
More precisely with QUITTING smoking?
Simply put you cannot quit unless you
WANT to quit.

The desire to quit is a necessary.

Do you know what an "iff" statement is?
An "iff" statement is sometimes used
while making mathematical and logical
arguments. Iff = "if and only if". So I am
making the statement here that: "you can
quit smoking iff you want to quit smoking".

The government can't make you quit,
higher taxes on cigarretes can't make
someone quit, all the smoking bans in the world
won't keep someone who really wants
to from having a square.

This is an important first step in order
to help those who really want to be helped
and not waste time and energy on those
who do not want to stop.

I found a book that is really good at
helping those people who WANT to quit,
quit smoking. You can follow this link to
read about the book. The book costs less
than $15 dollars and it is as effective as
anything else I have seen in helping
people quit smoking.

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SMOKING AND THE 80/20 RULE

by: Antonio Howell, MD

A pianist and two other musicians played
in a number of local bars in Long Beach,
California for about $90 per week in
the 1930s.

The band, a hit with locals, was just
barely making it.

Occasionally, the piano player would sing to
the delight of his audience who loved his
baritone voice.

As customers demanded to hear more vocals
pieces, the piano player reluctantly sang to
accomodate his audience.

Soon the trio and the singing pianist where a
huge sensation and the band began having
greater success.

A few years later the band recorded a number
one hit, the pianist name was Nat King Cole and
the song "Mona Lisa".

The 80/20 rule tell us the that 80 percent of
our success comes from 20 percent of what we do.

The trio and their music was were 80 percent but
Nat King Cole's voice was the 20 percent that
made the difference and propelled the group into
stardom.

The point of the story is that we always try to just do
the 80 percent because it is what is easy, what we are
comfortable doing, what everybody else is doing at
the time. And we are reluctant to do the 20 percent
that would make a real difference.

If you watch what you eat, exercise regularly, and
otherwise take care of your health but you smoke
then you are ignoring the 20 percent that matters.

Quitting smoking is the number one thing anyone
can do to improve their health and the health of
those around them.

Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer
deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death
in both men and women.

According to the 2004 British Study in the Journal
of Epidemiology and Health a smoker's life is
shorten by an average of 10 years.

Here is a partial list of people who would probably
still be with us if they had quit smoking:

*ABC anchorman Peter Jennings.

*Renaldo "Obie" Benson, member of the Four Tops.

*Comedian Alan King.

*Author Stephen Ambrose.

*Singer Rosemary Clooney.

*Baseball's Cal Ripken Sr.

*Baseball's Joe DiMaggio.

*Actor Vincent Price.

*Actor Chuck Connors.

*Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.

*Big band performer and Actor Desi Arnaz.

*Actor Yul Brynner.

*Jesse Owens, Olympic gold medalist.

*Jazz great Duke Ellington.

*Nat King Cole.

The could have given society another
movie or another song, or read the news
for us one more time, etc but instead they
died of lung cancer (a preventable
disease).

Yes, smoking affects us all.

SOURCE:
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2004.
Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2004.

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MORE HEALTH BY SUBSTRACTION WITH SMOKING

Chantix Alternative. How to Quit Without Using Chantix. Click Here.

by: Antonio Howell, MD

Many times more can be achieved
by substraction than by addition.

In the classroom presenting less is
more effective for learning. By
eliminating the nonessential content
one stresses the important points.

Indeed sometimes "less is more"
as Robert Browning once wrote.

In 1951 information was obtained
about the smoking habits of 34,439
British doctors. Researchers continued
to monitor the subjects for 50 years
afterwards.

An assesment of cause-specific mortality
revealed that those who smoked throughout
their lives died on average about 10 years
younger than non-smokers.

If one had a pill that could prolong life 10 years,
who wouldn't take it? Even if it cost a fortune.

Matter of fact such a pill would be worth
billions of dollars.

Quitting smoking essentially does the
same thing and it is free.

Source: Mortality in relation to smoking:
50 years’ observations on male British doctors.
Doll, R et al.Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health 2004;58:930

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WHY ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGNS ARE SO BAD?

Chantix Alternative. How to Quit Without Using Chantix. Click Here.

by: Antonio Howell, MD

Here is an article I wrote on how to improve the effectiveness of anti-smoking campaigns.

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IS IT EVER TOO LATE TO QUIT?

Chantix Alternative. How to Quit Without Using Chantix. Click Here.

by: Antonio Howell, MD

The risk of dying from smoking-related
causes drops significantly within just a
few years of giving up cigarettes, even
for longtime smokers, new research
shows.

Within five years of quitting smoking,
study participants experienced a:

• 13% reduction in the risk of death from all causes,
  
• a 47% risk reduction in heart disease-related deaths,
  
• and a 27% reduction in the risk of death from stroke.

Within 20 years of quitting, the risk of
dying among former smokers was similar
to that of lifetime nonsmokers for most
causes of death, with the exception of
lung cancer.

The findings suggest that it is never
too late to derive health benefits from
giving up smoking, says researcher
Stacey A. Kenfield, ScD, of the
Harvard School of Public Health. [...]

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"DOES CHANTIX CAUSE ANY FUTURE KIDNEY PROBLEMS?"

Do You Enjoy Smoking? YES! Then Do Not Click Here.

A reader wants to know:

QUESTION = Does chantix cause
any future kidney problems?

Chantix is known to be substantially excreted
by the kidney, and the risk of toxic reactions
to this drug may be greater in patients with
impaired kidney function.

Because elderly patients are more likely to
have decreased renal function, care should
be taken in dose selection, and it may be
useful to monitor renal function.

No dosage adjustment is necessary for patients
with mild to moderate renal impairment.

For patients with severe renal impairment,
the recommended starting dose of Chantix
is 0.5mg once daily.

Patients may then slowly increase the dose
to a maximum dose of 0.5mg twice a day.

For patients with end-stage renal disease
undergoing hemodialysis, a maximum dose
of 0.5mg once daily may be administered
if tolerated well.

Chantix is eliminated by the urine
(92% excreted unchanged,minimal metabolism).
Chantix is excreted in the kidney through
the glomerular filtration system along with
active tubular secretion via the organic cation
transport (OCT2).

Urinary disorders experienced with people on
Chantix:

• FREQUENT: Polyuria.
• INFREQUENT: Nephrolithiasis, Nocturia, Urine abnormality, Urethral syndrome.
• RARE: Renal failure acute, Urinary retention.
  

Chantix has been shown to be dialyzed in patients
with end stage renal disease however, there is
no experience in dialysis following overdose.

Chantix elimination was unchanged in patients
with mild renal impairment (estimated creatinine
clearance greater than 50mLpermin and less than
or equal to 80mLpermin).

In patients with moderate renal impairment
(estimated creatinine clearance greater than or
equal to 30mLpermin and less than or equal to
50mLpermin), varenicline exposure increased
1.5-fold compared with patients with normal
renal function (estimated creatinine clearance
greater than 80mLpermin).

In subjects with severe renal impairment
(estimated creatinine clearance less than 30mLpermin),
Chantix exposure was increased 2.1-fold.

In subjects with end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
undergoing a three hour session of hemodialysis
for three days a week, Chantix exposure was
increased 2.7-fold following 0.5mg once daily
administration for 12 days.

The plasma Cmax and AUC of Chantix noted in
this setting were similar to healthy subjects
receiving about 1mg twice daily.

Caution is warranted with the use of Chantix in
subjects with renal impairment.

Additionally, in subjects with ESRD, varenicline
was efficiently removed by hemodialysis.

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THE NUMBER ONE THING FOR BETTER HEALTH?

Do You Enjoy Smoking? YES! Then Do Not Click Here.

by: Antonio Howell, MD

It was about 1994 and I was sitting listening to
another lecture during medical school. I was
immediately put to sleep as the instructor
talked and talked for what seemed like an
eternity. (I was never good a listening to lectures.)

But then he made a statement that the number
one thing any person can do to improve their health
is to quit smoking. I immediately perked-up. He
repeated the statement: "The number one thing
anyone can do to immediately improve their health
is to quit smoking."

That stayed with me of all the things I learned during
medical school and since then I have always been
interested in helping people quit smoking.

So I was thrilled when I heard about Chantix and
immediately learned everything I could about this
drug and hence this report CLICK HERE.

It is a compilation of questions, side effects and
symptoms commonly experienced with Chantix.

It is based on the product insert provided by
Pfizer, some reader provided testimonials and
my personal experience with patients and other
physicians who have used Chantix.

Wish you success in your attempt to quit smoking.

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WANT TO QUIT SMOKING WITH NO CRAVINGS?

Do You Enjoy Smoking? YES! Then Do Not Click Here.

A reader ask:
I am quitting smoking and need something to help with cravings?

Well here is a solution for you and it is dirt cheap too. Read about it here.

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SENIORS DO YOU SMOKE?

Do You Enjoy Smoking? YES! Then Do Not Click Here.

Congratulations to the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota which is encouraging its Seniors to order their cap and gown... and by the way if they smoke then QUIT IT! With a FREE quit smoking program. Read article here.

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CHANTIX FREQUENT SIDE EFFECTS LISTED?

FREE DOWNLOAD: My Chantix notes.

The makers of Chantix describe the side effects of the drug in terms of those occuring frequently, infrequently and rare.

I have no idea what constitutes frequently, infrequently or rare in the opinion of the researchers.

Maybe those symptoms that occur more than 5% of the time are called frequent. Those symptoms occuring between 5% to 1% of the time are infrequent and finally less than 1% are called rare. (Again I am just guessing).

But here is an alphabetical list of all the FREQUENT side effects listed in the Chantix product insert:

1. anxiety
2. arthralgia
3. back pain
4. chest pain
5. depression
6. diarrhea
7. disturbance in attention
8. dizziness
9. edema
10. emotional disorder
11. epistaxis
12. gingivitis
13. hot flush
14. hyperhidrosis
15. hypertension
16. influenza like illness
17. irritability
18. liver function test abnormal
19. menstrual disorder
20. muscle cramp
21. musculoskeletal pain
22. myalgia
23. nausea
24. polyuria
25. respiratory disorders
26. restlessness
27. sensory disturbance
28. thirst
29. vomiting
30. weight increased
    

Join the Millions Who Have Become Nonsmokers Using the Easyway Method (Click Here).

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IS SMOKING IN A BOOTH STILL BAD FOR YOU?

FREE DOWNLOAD: My Chantix notes.

Are enclosed smoking lounges the answer for smoking in bars and casinos as described in this article here. The answer is NO.

The smoke fumes cling to the clothing and hair of people who smoke. Furthermore the volatile cigarette fumes linger in the air for hours. And anyone who has ever been within 50yards of an enclosed booth knows that it is practically impossible to keep the cigarette fumes from seeping out into the general population where the harm of second-hand smoke is just as bad as smoking.

Join the Millions Who Have Become Nonsmokers Using the Easyway Method (Click Here).

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BAR OWNERS IN OHIO PAYING FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS TO SMOKE?

FREE DOWNLOAD: My Chantix notes.

Ohio's plan to balancing the expenses of enforcing the smoking ban against revenues have gone up in smoke.

Bars like Corky's Thomastown Café has run up thousands of dollars in expenses since the ban took effect a year ago.

"These people have been paying my bills for 25 years," owner Billy McFrye said. "How can you ask an 80-year-old man who's been coming here every day for 25 years, 'You gotta go outside.' I just can't do it.'" [...]

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QUIT SMOKING ON THE CLOCK?

FREE DOWNLOAD: My Chantix notes.

Smokers trying to quit may have a better chance of success if they let the clock tell them when to have a cigarette.

The strategy proved twice as successful in the long term as quitting cold turkey or allotting a certain number of cigarettes per day, according to a study reported in the June issue of The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

The clock strategy assigns smokers specific times of day for lighting up. The schedule gradually lengthens the intervals between cigarettes until a smoker quits altogether. [...]

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WHICH NEW YORKERS ARE SUCCESSFULLY QUITTING SMOKING?

FREE DOWNLOAD: My Chantix notes.

Quitting smoking is not easy, but thousands of New Yorkers succeed at it every year.

Find great report available free from the New York Health Department’s Community Health Survey here.

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WHO IS QUITTING SMOKING?

FREE DOWNLOAD: My Chantix notes.

Quitting smoking is not easy, but thousands of New Yorkers succeed at it every year.

Who’s trying to kick the habit, and who’s succeeding? In a new report titled Who’s Still Smoking, the Health Department sheds light on both questions.

The report, based on a large survey of New York City adults, shows that two thirds of the city’s smokers – almost 800,000 adults – tried to quit in the past year, but only 17% of those succeeded.

Data from the survey identify emotional distress and binge drinking as possible obstacles to quitting, and finds that less than a fifth of New York City smokers are using nicotine replacement therapy – even though it doubles the chances of success.

The report is available online at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/survey/survey-2007smoking.pdf

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