GIC Health Articles - Smoking

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"I Need a Cigarette. Or, Not…" (summer 2005) According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control : · $89 billion: total annual public and private health care expenditures caused by smoking · $1,000: amount of money typical smoker spends each year on tobacco · 3,000,000: number of teens and children in the U.S. who smoke cigarettes · Nearly 90%: percent of smokers who begin at or before age 18 · 46,000,000: number of U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes · 35,000: number of annual deaths from secondhand smoke exposure · 4,000: Number of chemicals in tobacco smoke, including carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and arsenic · $34 million: amount tobacco industry spends daily to market its products nationwide1 · 400,000: number of Americans who die each year as the result of tobacco-related illnesses - almost 1 out of 5 deaths - more than from AIDS, car crashes, alcohol, suicides, homicides, fire and illegal drugs combined 1 U.S. Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2002

It's Never Too Late to Quit (summer 2005) The U.S. Surgeon General's Reports of 1998 and 1990 found: 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate drops. 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases. 1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection. 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease becomes half that of a smoker's. 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker. 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's and the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease. 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.

Don't Go It Alone Resources to Help You Quit Smoking Smoking is extremely addictive and quitting is not easy. The following resources can help you quit: Quitworks: The Department of Public Health, in collaboration with major health plans, provides telephone and web-based programs to assist Massachusetts residents with smoking cessation. Your doctor may refer you to this resource, or you can self-refer by visiting the Quitworks website or calling 1-800-TRY-TO-STOP (1-800-879-8678). From this site, you can access the Try To Stop Tobacco web-based resource. Resources include a personalized quit plan, bulletin boards and contact information for community-based programs. Tufts Health Plan MOMS Program: Mom and Me Smoke Free Cessation program for pregnant women: Members are mailed smoking cessation materials specific to pregnant smokers. Fallon Community Health Plan Tobacco Program: Weekly group sessions are offered free of charge and are open to anyone. Sessions are held at Fallon Clinic sites in Auburn, Leominster, Spencer and Worcester. Fallon members receive nicotine patches at a discounted rate, as well as access to telephone counseling. For additional details, call toll-free 1-888-807-2908.

Help Is Available to Kick the Habit
(winter 2001)

If you are one of the 48 million adult smokers, and you want to quit, your health plan can help.
The reasons to stop smoking are compelling:
· Tobacco use causes one in five U.S. deaths according to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study
· Half of continuing smokers die prematurely from smoking, and half of these people die in middle age, ages 35 to 69, losing an average of 20 to 25 years of life expectancy
· Other side effects of smoking may include cataracts, wrinkled skin, and an increased risk of osteoporosis
· Women who smoke have special health risks including damaging effects on reproductive health, reduced fertility, and early menopause
Family members also suffer
· Non-smoking spouses have a 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer from second-hand smoke
· Smoking during pregnancy can cause problems such as miscarriage, low birth weight, and premature delivery.
· Children exposed to smoking parents run the risk of SIDS (crib death), asthma, and chronic ear infections

Even if you have smoked for years, it's not too late to reap the benefits of quitting:
According to the 1990 US Surgeon General report:
· People who quit, regardless of age, live longer than people who continue to smoke
· Smokers who quit before age 50 have half the risk of dying in the next 15 years compared with those who continue to smoke
· Quitting smoking substantially decreases the risk of lung, laryngeal, esophageal, oral, pancreatic, bladder, and cervical cancers, as well as coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease
· For women who quit prior to pregnancy or within the first trimester, the risk for having a low birthweight baby is reduced to that of a woman who has never smoked.

That's not to say it's easy to quit. The National Cormobidity Survey showed that teenage conversion rates from use to addiction were similar between tobacco and cocaine, 23.6% versus 24.5%, respectively.

Your physician can be instrumental in assisting you with quitting. When doctors advise patients to quit smoking, smoking cessation rates increase by 30% according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Because of this relationship, NCQA added "Advising Smokers to Quit" to its HEDIS 2000 performance measurement reporting requirements for Health Maintenance Organizations. HMOs reported the percentage of their patients who smoked during the past year whose doctor told them to quit. Your doctor knows you, your health habits, your health history, and is, therefore uniquely qualified to advise you about quitting smoking. (See the GIC HMO HEDIS report card for information on how your GIC HMO scored.)

The following GIC health plans offer additional assistance:
Tufts HMO and Commonwealth PPO: Smoking Cessation Program for Pregnant Enrollees: Enrollees work in partnership with a trained counselor by phone to set a quit date and develop a plan to help the enrollee in her effort to quit. Enrollees also receive self-help materials and information tailored to their specific needs. Wellness Benefit: Enrollees receive a 30% discount off the regular price of an approved program through participating hospitals and fitness centers.
Fallon Community Health Plan: Group sessions are offered in the Worcester area, and are tailored to individual needs. Call Emily Eaton for the orientation session schedule: 1-800-891-2300 ext. 51006.
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care: One Step at a Time for Adolescents: a set of three gender-specific booklets designed for adolescents. Cost is $4.00 including postage and handling. Call 1-800-287-9793 for more information. One-on-One: A self-help audiotape and telephone counseling program. Call 1-800-422-9638 for more information.

For other resources, check out the Centers for Disease Control, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health , the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.