How To Quit Smoking

Tobacco is considered to be the single most important cause of  preventable deaths in  the world & it is projected  to be the leading cause of deaths  by  2020, 1 in 8  deaths. Preventing &  treating  all this diseases, and controlling tobacco usage is one of the major challenges of  public health today. The usage of tobacco is  increased to such an extent that it has now been referred to as ‘Tobacco Epidemic’.

As far as India is considered, it is 4th largest consumer in world & 3rd largest producer after China & Brazil. There are about 250 million tobacco users in India, accounting for 19% of world’s total 1.3 billion tobacco users. Tobacco use is definitely a Killer for India when statistical data reveals that there are 800,000 deaths per year due to tobacco use & 700,000 of them are due to smoking alone.

In 2005, 5 million deaths occurred around the world due to tobacco use & this number is likely to increase to 10 million deaths annually by 2020, & could kill 1 billion people in 21st century  unless governments takes some action to reduce the tobacco use, as is quoted by WHO in a report recently.

As dentist’s, we all have learned of  the various forms in which tobacco is used & also the plethora of diseases caused by tobacco use including Chronic obstructive lung diseases, bronchial asthama, lung cancer, cancer of oropharynx, larynx, oesophagus,  cardiovascular diseases, sexual impotence, infertility, oral precancer & cancer, periodontal diseases etc.

There is also a added danger of  Second  Hand Smoke, which is known to cause  diseases in children like ‘Sudden Infant Death Syndrome’, Acute & Chronic respiratory illness, asthama, middle ear diseases. In adults, ‘SHS’ has proved to cause lung cancer, cardiovascular & respiratory diseases.

Governments  around the world collect more than 200 billion dollars in tobacco taxes every year but spends less than 15th of 1 % of revenue on tobacco control. This is a very  alarming  fact  & should be considered seriously by all governments if they  are planning  program’s  to carry out ‘Tobacco Control’.

WHO has urged the governments to adopt Six ‘tobacco control policies’-

1)  Raise taxes &  prices of tobacco

2)  Ban tobacco advertising, promotion, & sponsorship

3)  Protect people from second hand smoke

4)  Warn people of the dangers of tobacco

5)   Help those who want to quit smoking &

6)   Monitor tobacco use to understand & reverse the tobacco epidemic.

To control this tobacco menace, there is a need for multifaceted approach which includes Public Health Education, Targeting maternal & Child Health Clinics, Counseling, Government efforts, & use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy.  We as dentists play a major role in Public Health Education & in counseling for tobacco cessation.

Dentists can work at 2 levels-

1) in the clinics

2)in the community  & national level.

In the Clinics- Dentist actually sees the harmful effects of  tobacco use , heshe spends more time with the patient than other physicians & therefore heshe should use this time to counsel the patient . It is the duty of dentist to promote Oral Health & Healthy Lifestyles amongst his patients. Just 5 minutes of focused talk during examination is enough  to make the patient aware & conscious of  harms of tobacco use . Dentists should interact with patients at every visit, & however brief the visit is , it can lead to a significant change in patients attitude & behavior.

Guide to  counseling  for Tobacco Cessation (Quitting)

A) For those willing to quit.

The 5 ‘A’ method

1)Ask- about tobacco use at every visit

2)Advise- non users to never use tobacco & users to quit

3)Assess- the patients readiness to quit &  the level of dependence

4)Assist – with  quitting

5)Arrange- follow up visits

B) For those not willing to quit.

The 5 ‘R’ method

Ask andor advise the patient about

1) Relevance of  quitting

2) Risks of continuing tobacco use

3) Rewards of quitting

4) Roadblocks to quitting

5) Repeat these at every visit

In the community-

Dentist can be a role model by not using tobacco or by quitting successfully.

Can display educational material in clinics or hospitals

Can write articles about benefits of tobacco control policies

Participate in talk shows,

Link with NGO’s to spread health awareness

Bring into limelight success stories

Tobacco contains nicotine, a powerful & highly addictive substance. It is directly  released to brain bringing on rapid onset of & maintenance of addiction.

So,  quitting tobacco is a hardest challenge a user can face.

Dentist himself should be strongly motivated  for the cause of  Tobacco Cessation, only then his  efforts towards counseling will be fruitful.

Dentist’s compassionate & positive support will greatly enhance user’s chances of successfully quitting tobacco.

Success  in relation to cessation  does not only mean that more number of patients have quit, but it  also includes educating the masses, so that the number of individuals taking to this  habit afresh will also reduce.

Let us imbibe into the minds of people to Choose Life & not Tobacco

If  all dentists set this as their goal & educate people, India will definitely become tobacco  free

REFERENCES-

1)Quick reference guide to dentists, by Dr Mihir N. Shah, co-author-Cecily S. Ray, Monika Arora

2)Policy of WHO- strategies to curb smokeless tobacco – global perspective, retrieved on 11-02-2008

3)Epidemiology- smokeless tobacco, retrieved on 11-02-2008

4)The global  tobacco epidemic-lecture , from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of    Public Health, retrieved on 11-02-2008

5)WHO-Tobacco Epidemic Report, retrieved on 11-02-2008

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/tobacco-the-need-for-cessation-and-role-of-dentists-in-tobacco-cessation-1230081.html

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September 15th, 2009 | Category: How To Quit Smoking | Comments Off
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