Nicotine is highly addictive and can be found in products such as cigarettes, liquid for use in e-cigarettes (vapes) and even in small doses of nicotine cessation products like gum and patches. While cigarette smoking among adults has declined over the years due to more educational awareness about the use of tobacco products, tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death.
While the health concerns associated with smoking nicotine are well-documented, it’s not as commonly known what the immediate health benefits are when it comes to quitting nicotine. The Lung Screening Program at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center provides education, resources and support for those who are on the journey of quitting nicotine or are considering of quitting nicotine.
Consequences of Smoking
When it comes to smoking nicotine, there are many harmful consequences such as:
- Lung damage: Smoking nicotine can contribute to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The chemicals found in tobacco can damage lung tissue and cause inflammation, making breathing progressively more difficult.
- Heart and Circulation Problems: Nicotine stimulates the release of adrenaline, raising heart rate, increasing blood pressure and narrowing the arteries preventing proper blood flow to the heart. This constant strain on the cardiovascular system can increase heart disease, stroke and blood clots.
- Weakened Immune System: Nicotine weakens the body’s natural defense system, making smokers more susceptible to illnesses and infections. The lung cells that clear mucus and pathogens are damaged by nicotine, which can increase a person’s risk of having respiratory infections.
- Impacts on Mental Health: While many nicotine users smoke to cope with stress and anxiety, studies have shown that nicotine worsens your mental health over time by increasing feelings of depression, anxiety and even contributing to cognitive decline.
- Increased Cancer Risk: Smoking nicotine is directly linked to 12 cancers such as pancreatic, breast, lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, bladder, stomach, colon and rectum, liver, cervix, kidney, and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Understanding the potential side effects of smoking nicotine is the first step toward living a healthier life. These harmful consequences highlight the sense of urgency to quit nicotine use.
Benefits of Cutting Back/Quitting Smoking
Knowing the rewards of quitting can provide the necessary insight and motivation for a person to take charge of their life and make a lasting change. Here are some of the benefits of quitting smoking:
- Recovery of the Lungs: Over time, lung function starts to improve. Within a day, your heart rate and blood pressure will drop, and the carbon monoxide level will go back to normal. One year of quitting, your lungs will be healthier, and breathing will be easier. Afterward, the lung tissue will start to repair itself, significantly reducing the risk of lung disease.
- Improves Heart Health: Within six hours, your heart rate will slow down, and your blood pressure will become stable. Over time, within two to five years, your risk of heart disease will have dropped significantly and will continue to do so. After 20 years, your risk of a heart attack will be as if you’ve never smoked at all.
- Reduces Risk of Cancer: The risk of cancers associated with smoking nicotine decreases with each year being nicotine-free. Within five years, a woman’s risk of cervical cancer will be the same as if she had never smoked at all. After a decade of quitting, your risk of lung cancer will be half that of someone of a similar age who keeps smoking.
- Improves Mental Health: Quitting nicotine can reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and irritability. Studies have shown that former smokers reported higher self-esteem, mental clarity and improved mood.
- Financial savings: Smoking is a costly habit. Smokers pay 15-20% more for health insurance than non-smokers and spend an average of $5,000 on tobacco products containing nicotine. Quitting nicotine can save a person over $30,000 dollars a year.
When Trying to Quit Feels Hard: Managing Withdrawal
Trying to quit smoking can feel different for everyone, but most people will experience some symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. This happens because your brain and body are adjusting to life without nicotine. While it may be uncomfortable, remember it’s a crucial step towards a healthier and longer life.
Some withdrawal symptoms that a person may experience while they are quitting nicotine are:
- Having urges or craving to smoke
- Feeling irritated, grouchy or upset
- Feeling jumpy or restless
- Having a hard time concentrating
- Having trouble sleeping
- Feeling hungrier or gaining weight
- Feeling anxious, sad or depressed
These feelings of withdrawal are normal, and you should not let it discourage you from your journey to create an improved quality of life and a healthier one. There are ways to help manage these symptoms that can support you on your journey to quitting the use of nicotine, such as:
- Quit-smoking Medicines: Quit-smoking medicines include nicotine replacement medicines (the nicotine patch, lozenge, gum, oral inhaler, and nasal spray) and pill medicines (varenicline and bupropion SR). These can help manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings. It can make the journey less painful and help you stay motivated.
- Change Your Environment: Change some things about your lifestyle such as home, car, work and avoiding places where smoking is allowed to reduce temptations. It is also important to tell friends and family so they can support you on this journey.
- Distract Yourself: When you have the urge to smoke, distract yourself by listening to your favorite music, going for a walk or doing another physical activity, calling or hanging out with friends, read a book, play a video game or do a puzzle.
Smoking Cessation Is Here to Help
The journey to quitting nicotine is deeply personal, but it is also one that benefits from compassionate, expert guidance. The Lung Cancer Screening Program offers a free 90-minute smoking cessation class from the care team and a certified American Lung Association instructor that provides comprehensive support, resources and a step-by-step plan to help individuals who are interested in quitting. During the sessions, you will be provided with:
- Information on nicotine addiction and how it affects a person
- A structured curriculum on how to quit nicotine
- An opportunity to share your experiences with other attendees should you choose to share
- Support and additional resources and tools to take home with you.
If you smoke or have quite within the past 15 years or have a history of smoking (20 pack years or more), you may qualify for a low-dose CT lung cancer screening.
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening at Long Beach Medical Center
Along with quitting nicotine, it is also important to get your lungs screened to ensure there are no developing nodules. A lung screening is recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force yearly for people who:
- Are between 50 and 80 years old
- Smoke now or have quite within the past 15 years
- Have a history of heavy smoking (20 pack years or more). A pack year is smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for one year.
At Long Beach Medical Center, we have a team of radiologists that utilize a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest to screen for lung nodules. The low-dose CT limits the amount of radiation a person receives compared to a standard CT scan. This low-dose CT captures detailed pictures of a patient’s lungs to identify spots or nodules that may reflect cancer. Studies show that lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans of the chest leads to 20% fewer lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer screening increases the detection of lung cancer at Stage 1 by 85%. An annual screening is recommended for high-risk patients, even if no abnormalities are seen in an initial scan.
But should the need arise, and the screening indicates that there may be cancer in the lungs, at Long Beach Medical Center, we have a multi-disciplinary team of physicians and nurses that we partner with at MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute to provide care and support throughout the process.
If It Is Cancer – We Have the Latest Technology, Nurse Navigators to Guide You
From the time of diagnosis, you will be provided with a team of oncologists, radiologists, a lung nurse navigator like myself, to guide lung cancer patients through their health care journey.
The MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute is a regional leader in diagnosis and surgical outcomes while keeping the patient’s experience at the forefront of their recovery. The care team has even been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a ‘high performing’ hospital for Pulmonology & Lung Surgery.
Along with providing nationally recognized exceptional care, we are committed to delivering the most advanced technology for lung cancer detection, we offer the next generation of robotic bronchoscopy. This new device from NoahMed, Galaxy System, uses integrated tomosynthesis (3D mammography) to navigate to and locate nodules. This improved visualization, along with disposable bronchoscopy, enhances precision and accuracy beyond the capabilities of existing technologies. It gives our doctors access to often hard-to-reach lesions in the outer third of the lung, which are often hard to biopsy, using integrated tomosynthesis (3D mammography) to navigate to and locate nodules.
Prevention is the Best Medicine
Although quitting nicotine may be one of the most challenging things you may ever do, it is also the most rewarding. Prevention is the best medicine, and the anxiety of knowing is much better than waiting and ending up with a chronic disease. The Lung Cancer Screening Program at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center provides education, resources, and support for those on the journey of quitting nicotine or considering quitting.
