Want to Quit Smoking? Boost Your Success with Smoking Cessation Programs and Nicotine Replacement Medication

Posted June 03, 2024 by Nicole Piriak, RRT, CTTS

It’s never too late to quit smoking or nicotine use — no matter your age or how long you’ve been using tobacco or vaping products. Believe it or not, you’ll reap the health benefits within the first day of quitting. 

In just 24 hours after quitting, your risk of a heart attack decreases. Within three months after quitting, your circulation, lung function and stamina improve. 

The health benefits continue to get better the longer you go smoke-free: 

• After one year: Your risk of heart disease drops to half of that of a smoker. 
• After five years: Your risk of stroke is the same as a nonsmoker.
• After 10 years: Your risk of lung cancer is half that of a smoker. 
• After 15 years: Your risk of heart disease is nearly equal to that of a nonsmoker. 

Sadly, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. There’s no doubt smoking cessation is one of the most effective strategies for reducing your risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung and heart diseases. The sooner you quit tobacco — or even cut down on how much you use — the faster you can reduce your chances of getting cancer and other chronic diseases. 

While quitting tobacco can be difficult, you don’t have to do it alone. Smoking cessation programs are important because they increase your chances for success. They help you identify the mental, physical and social aspects of tobacco use to keep you motivated and focused on your goal. Find out how smoking cessation programs can help you quit tobacco use for good! 

How smoking cessation programs can help you quit for good

Smoking cessation programs can help you develop different strategies to reduce smoking and your dependency on nicotine as well as offer suggestions on how to quit and what you can do to achieve — and sustain — this goal.  

Smoking cessation counseling programs:

• Work with you to develop a personalized quit plan or strategy that’s tailored to your individual needs and lifestyle to increase chances of success. There is no one way to quit. 
• Educate you on how nicotine affects the body to give you a better understanding of why it’s difficult to quit. From there, you can develop strategies to overcome personal barriers. 
• Help you identify smoking triggers and teach you strategies to cope with cravings and manage stress in a healthy way. This may include discussing ways to remain busy when cravings sneak up.
• Provide ongoing guidance to help keep you on track.
• Offer support and positive reinforcement by educating you on the health benefits of quitting. This may include talking about how smoking might be related to some of your current health conditions and how quitting can help to better manage them.

In addition, a tobacco treatment specialist will discuss the benefits of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) and medications that assist with quitting.

There are several medications available to help you overcome intense cravings. Nicotine patches, gum and lozenges are available over the counter, while a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are available by prescription, in addition to non-nicotine medications.

While counseling or medication is likely to increase your chances of success, the combination of both is even more effective. 

What to expect from Summa Health’s Smoking Cessation Program

Summa Health offers a free Smoking Cessation Program for anyone looking for help in quitting the use of tobacco and vaping products. We offer one-on-one telephone or in-person counseling options. Throughout our program, you will learn about nicotine dependence and gain knowledge in different quitting methods. 

Our counseling sessions take place in a relaxed setting and are meant to be positive and non-judgmental to help you understand your relationship with tobacco.

The initial counseling session is the longest and considered the “getting to know you” visit. During this visit, you can expect questions about your tobacco history, as well as questions to help identify how addicted your body is to nicotine. In addition, you’ll go over a brief health history as it relates to your smoking or tobacco use. Your counselor also will ask about any NRTs or medications you’re already taking and how you’re using them. 

Lastly, during the initial consultation, your counselor will perform assessments to obtain “readiness to quit” and “confidence to quit” scores. These are helpful in setting up a realistic timeline for quitting. Higher scores indicate you’re motivated to make changes toward cessation and increase your chance of success. 

After the initial consultation, your counselor will set up further sessions based on your needs to help keep you on track. The goal of counseling is to develop healthy, stress-free coping strategies that don’t involve using tobacco. To be successful, you must adapt and modify your behavior. Quitting doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to undo these unhealthy habits and establish healthier behaviors. Motivation and mindfulness are key.

Once you quit, you’ll have monthly check-ins until you reach your maintenance phase or 6-month quit anniversary. When you reach this milestone, you’ll likely have the skills necessary to continue being successful and are considered nicotine-free. 

Learn more about Summa Health’s Smoking Cessation Program. To schedule an appointment with a tobacco treatment specialist, call 234.475.QUIT or email smokingcessation@summahealth.org.

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