April 9, 2025 • 33 mins
Join us on the Speaking of Women's Health podcast as guest host Leigh Klekar guides us through the life-saving journey of smoking cessation. With alarming statistics that reveal smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., this episode will empower you with the knowledge and motivation to quit.
We dive into practical strategies to help you or a loved one quit smoking, starting with identifying personal motivations and recognizing triggers. Leigh shares tips on replacing smoking with healthier habits, the power of visualizing yourself as a non-smoker and the importance of community support. She also stresses the significance of consulting with your physician before starting any medications to ensure you are safely equipped to begin this transformative journey toward a healthier, smoke-free life.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health
podcast.
I am your host, dr HollyThacker, and I'm back
temporarily today in theSunflower House.
I love bringing these podcaststo you, my audience, who I adore
(00:22):
, and we're bringing you greatcontent from
speakingofwomenshealthcom.
But, as you may or may not know, not only am I the executive
director of Speaking of Women'sHealth, but I also direct our
Center for Specialized Women'sHealth and run a specialty
women's health fellowship, and Iwant to keep giving you, our
(00:44):
listeners, the best content thatwe have on our site.
And so I want to introduce ourwonderful executive producer of
the podcast, leigh Kleckar, andshe is behind the scenes and our
social media manager forSpeaking of Women's Health, and
(01:05):
she is going to guest podcast,including today.
So take it away, leigh.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health
podcast.
I'm your guest host, leighKlecker, and I'm the producer of
the Speaking of Women's Healthpodcast, and I'm back in the
Sunflower House for a brand newepisode.
The topic for this new podcastepisode is smoking sensation,
and smoking sensation, alsoknown as quitting smoking, is
(01:38):
the process of stopping the useof tobacco products.
This is a really importanttopic and one we have not yet
discussed on the podcast, assmoking accounts for about
440,000 deaths yearly, and itcan be difficult to smoke.
It can be difficult, excuse me,to quit smoking due to the
(02:03):
nicotine addiction, which isboth mental and physical.
However, quitting smoking cangreatly reduce the risk of
developing serious healthproblems, including cancer, and,
according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,
tobacco product use remains theleading cause of preventable
(02:26):
disease and death in the UnitedStates.
In 2022, there were 49.2million people, or nearly one in
five US adults, who reportedcurrent tobacco product use.
One in five adults, that is alot of people.
(02:47):
That's 19.8% of our USpopulation and we know that
chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease or COPD, which is also
known as emphysema or chronicbronchitis, continually ranks
among the leading causes ofdeath in the United States.
(03:09):
But smoking is also a majorcause of cardiovascular disease,
heart and blood vessel disease,and smoking takes about 10
years off your life.
So this is something that wecan prevent.
We can prevent these diseasesby quitting smoking.
So a person's risk of heartattack greatly increases with
(03:34):
the number of cigarettes he orshe smokes, and we know from the
podcast episode that Dr Thackerdid in February.
We talked about heart diseaseand how to prevent certain types
of cardiovascular disease, likestroke, and there is no safe
(03:56):
amount of smoking, so smokersincrease their risk of heart
attack the longer they smoke.
People who smoke a pack ofcigarettes a day have more than
twice the risk of heart attackthan non-smokers, and women who
smoke and also use oralcontraceptives, like birth
control pills, increase severaltimes their risk of coronary and
(04:18):
peripheral artery diseases andheart attack and stroke,
compared with non-smoking womenwho use oral contraceptives.
So these are really reallyreally important things to know
if you are smoking and if theseare not enough reasons to quit
smoking, also know that smokingplays a role in all of these
(04:40):
diseases.
And here we go Lung cancer,heart disease, heart attacks and
stroke.
We just mentioned that Cancerof the mouth, larynx, esophagus,
lips and tongue.
Cancer of the pancreas, kidneybladder, stomach, colon and
liver.
Peripheral vascular disease,which is poor circulation,
(05:03):
asthma in children, low birthweight babies, sudden infant
death syndrome, early menopause.
I'm still going.
This list is long osteoporosis,cataracts, macular degeneration
, peptic ulcer disease, which isstomach ulcers, uterine and
cervical cancer, prematurewrinkles, decreased sense of
(05:25):
smell and infertility andimpotence.
That's a really long list andI'm sure you're well aware.
But did you know that there aredangerous chemicals in tobacco?
I mean, there are chemicals intobacco smoke that include
acetone, mercury, lead, nicotine, cadmium, carbon monoxide,
(05:49):
hydrogen, cyanide, arsenic,fennel, formaldehyde and DDT.
Gross right, I mean we hearabout this in the news a lot
like, oh, limit your lead intakeand how bad it is.
And you know, don't useproducts that formaldehyde in,
but if you're smoking you'reputting that in your mouth and
in your body every day.
(06:11):
You know, kind of going back towomen smokers, lung cancer
kills more women than breastcancer and breast cancer will
claim the lives of 41,000 womenthis year, while 68,000 women
will die of lung cancer.
22% of US women smoked.
(06:31):
This is back in 1998.
So it'd be interesting, youknow, there of course, we're
getting a lot of statistics thatare going to be later than we
are here in 2025.
Are here in 2025.
But there's also been a 600%increase in the lung cancer
(06:53):
death rate in women since 1950.
600% and since then we knowthat cancer or smoking leads to
lung cancer and all these otherdiseases that we just listed,
and there's been a 600% increase.
Also, adolescence and smoking Imean long-term nicotine
addiction results primarily fromtobacco use during adolescence,
and approximately 43% ofstudents in high school have
(07:18):
used tobacco.
The earlier the onset ofsmoking, the more severe
nicotine addiction is likely tobe.
And by age 17, 50% of smokershave tried to quit 17,.
Geez, and they fail.
Many regret having started inthe first place.
I know my dad said he startedwhen he was in high school and
(07:44):
somebody offered him a cigarette.
He said yes, due to peerpressure and that was a lifelong
habit of his, that he triedseveral times to quit and, good
news, he's now an ex-smoker, sowe could talk a little bit about
his success later on.
I'd like to mention thatbecause we're real proud of him
and just so you know.
You know he was a smoker.
(08:04):
Let's I'm going to say I can dothe math really quick at least
50 years.
So if he can do it, you can doit too.
A little bit more aboutadolescents, and you know the
impact that smoking and nicotinehas on them.
You know they, of adolescentswho smoke, 75% have one or both
(08:28):
parents who also smoke.
So let's talk about why youshould quit and the benefits of
quitting.
So there is good news when youquit smoking, quitting smoking
today, results in both immediateand long-term improvements in
health.
So when you quit, after 20minutes only 20 minutes the air
(08:50):
is less polluted around you,your blood pressure and pulse
start to decrease and thetemperature of your hands and
feet will increase.
I know my dad and he still doescomplain, but he always would
talk about how cold he was.
I never understood it untilI've done more research here
about smoking.
(09:12):
And so after eight hours ofstopping smoking, the carbon
monoxide level in your blooddrops to normal and your oxygen
levels in the blood increases.
After one day, 24 hours, yourchance of heart attack decreases
.
That's huge right.
And after 48 hours your nerveendings adjust to the absence of
(09:34):
the nicotine and your abilityto taste and smell begins to
return.
After 72 hours, your bronchialtubes relax.
Two weeks to three months afteryou've quit smoking, your
circulation will improve.
Your exercise toleranceimproves.
One to nine months after you'llnotice that your coughing, your
(09:58):
sinus congestion, your fatigueand shortness of breath all have
decreased.
The body's overall energy levelwill increase and you also have
that increase in the ability ofthe lungs to handle the mucus,
clean the lungs and reduceinfection.
So that could mean less likelyto get a type of respiratory
(10:22):
infection.
I know again I'll be mentioningthis a lot about my dad, but I
feel like it could be veryrelatable for a lot of people
out there who are wanting toquit.
He definitely noticed I mean heused to get a lot of
respiratory infections and thecoughing and that mucus cough
and he has said now you knowhe's a year and a half after
(10:45):
quitting I don't hear him thathacky cough, that's gone, I mean
, unless he becomes sick.
But really that's somethinghe's seen a huge, huge
improvement in.
Okay, back to our list.
One year after quitting smoking, the excess risk of heart
disease is decreased to half ofthat the smoker.
The excess risk of heartdisease is decreased to half of
(11:07):
that the smoker.
And five years after, the riskof stroke is reduced to that of
non-smokers Again huge.
Ten years after quittingsmoking, the risk of lung cancer
drops to as little as one halfthat of continuing smokers, and
the incidence of other cancerslike mouth, throat, esophagus,
bladder, kidney and pancreas.
(11:28):
They all decrease.
And if you are a 15 years, ifyou have quit smoking for 15
years, the risk of heart diseaseis now similar to that of
people who have never smoked andthe risk of death returns to
nearly the level of people whohave never smoked.
So a lot of benefits there.
(11:52):
Here's some more.
If you smoke, quitting is themost important step you can take
to protect your lungs, and it'snever too late to quit.
I mean, I mentioned how my dadwas in his sixties when he quit
mid sixties, and he's alreadyseen, you know, improvements in
his health and your body canshow drastic improvements, as we
(12:14):
mentioned, within minutes ofyour last cigarette and your
health can improve and you willfeel more lively and more
energetic.
So we're going to talk about afew more health benefits that
people receive after quittingsmoking.
So we talked about your abilityto breathe.
Even non-smokers experience adecrease in lung capacity, which
(12:36):
is the volume of air you'reable to take in and forcibly
exhale in one second.
With age, however, you canminimize the impact by quitting
smoking, and the earlier youquit, the more lung capacity you
will retain.
So if you have smoked anaverage of 30 cigarettes a day,
beginning at, say, age 25, yourlung capacity can decrease
(13:00):
slightly more than a non-smokerand would be below the average
capacity of a non-smoker by thetime you turn 40.
And furthermore, if you are asmoker at risk for chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease,which is a lung disease, your
lung capacity can decreaserapidly by age 65, at which
(13:21):
point you'll likely befrequently short of breath,
which isn't fun, I mean by thetime you get to retire.
You want to live a healthy life,you want to enjoy that
retirement after working so hard.
So don't let smoking, you know,hinder what you want to do with
the rest of your life.
And so how will you feel whenyou quit?
(13:41):
You may crave cigarettes, youmay feel very hungry, you may
cough, often get more headaches,have difficulty concentrating,
have constipation, may feel verytired, may have a sore throat
and you could have difficultysleeping.
Although these withdrawalsymptoms will be the strongest
(14:07):
when you first quit, they shouldgo away within a few weeks.
So how can you become anex-smoker If you feel
emotionally and mentallyprepared to quit smoking?
And you're quitting foryourself and not to please
someone else.
This is the first step in takingtowards healthy living and
there is no one right way tostop smoking or stop chewing
(14:29):
tobacco.
The right way is whatever worksfor you.
But before you crumple up yourlast cigarette pack, you do need
to plan ahead.
But before you crumple up yourlast cigarette pack, you do need
to plan ahead.
So there are some provenmethods that experts have said
that will successfully kick thenicotine habit.
They are number one pick a dateto stop smoking and stick to it
(14:51):
.
So plan ahead.
As we mentioned, make a list ofyour reasons for quitting and
read it every day before andafter you quit.
So you consider health reasonsas maybe one of those, or social
reasons.
My dad's was, you know.
I want to see my grandkids getmarried.
I want to, you know, be therewhen they graduate college,
(15:14):
graduate high school, when theygraduate college, graduate high
school.
Write down when you smoke, whyyou smoke and what you are doing
when you smoke, to learn yourtriggers.
So if it's maybe when you goout to socialize, that could be
a trigger Stress, you know,after work, lunch break, those
could be some triggers, I'm sure.
(15:34):
Make a list of the activitiesyou can do instead when you face
one of your smoking triggers.
So take a walk, maybe, exercise, drink a glass of water.
My dad chooses cookies and cake.
Luckily he's very active.
He also go outside and do a lotof yard work, so he was cutting
(15:55):
the grass like two or threetimes a week those first few
months after he quit smoking,but he still hasn't put a
cigarette in his mouth since.
So it works.
Experiment by going without asmoke in certain situations, so
maybe after lunch or afterdinner before you quit for good.
So try that.
Visualize yourself as anon-smoker.
(16:18):
So see yourself climbing stairseffortlessly or jogging easily.
Notice lines disappearing fromyour skin.
Yeah, share your plans to quitwith friends and family and
invite those who smoke to joinwith you.
So quitting together can makeit easier for some.
(16:39):
Ask your healthcare providerabout smoking cessation aids.
They really help.
Some people like over that hump.
So choices can be the nicotinereplacement gum patches,
inhalers, there's sublingualwhich is under the tongue,
tablets, there's lozenges ornasal spray, and then there's
prescription medications andsign up maybe for a smoking
(17:03):
cessation support group orprogram, and I know they have
those online as well.
So let's talk about some ofthese nicotine replacement
therapies and medications.
So, depending on yourpreferences, you can choose to
stop using tobacco throughmedicines containing nicotine or
not containing nicotine.
So both types of treatmentshave certain benefits and
(17:27):
drawbacks.
So it's up to you and yourdoctor to determine which method
is right for you.
Nicotine replacement therapy.
So let's talk about this for asec.
Prior to using any smokingsensation product that contains
nicotine, it is very importantto stop smoking and stop using
any other nicotine containingproducts.
(17:50):
Please carefully read thelabels of these medicines for
directions on product use andother really important
information.
Consult with your physicianbefore using any
over-the-counter nicotinereplacement therapy to make sure
these treatments are compatiblewith your current medications
(18:13):
and medical conditions.
So my dad also has rheumatoidarthritis and he definitely
needed to consult with hisphysician before he started on
the medication.
He chose to quit smoking andactually smoking is a risk
factor for rheumatoid arthritisbecause it's not in our family
(18:34):
and he was diagnosed withrheumatoid arthritis when he was
in his early fifties and he'smale.
So and make sure you store allof your medications, all of your
nicotine replacement medicationmedications, out of the reach
of children and pets.
We're going to talk about herethe nicotine gum and lozenges.
(18:56):
So those are available withouta prescription and you can get
them in two and four milligramdoses.
The dose for nicotine gum isbased on how much the patient
smokes per day.
So patients who smoked maybe 25or more cigarettes per day
should use probably the fourmilligram gum, should use
(19:20):
probably the four milligram gum,and those who smoked fewer than
25 cigarettes per day shoulduse the two milligram gum.
But again, make sure that youare talking with your doctor
before starting this.
Eating or drinking, except forwater, should be avoided 15
minutes before or after usingthe gum or the lozenges, and
acidic beverages can reduce theabsorption of nicotine and
(19:41):
shouldn't be consumed whilechewing the gum.
So transmedermal nicotinepatches these are available
without a prescription Nicodermand generic nicotine patches
they come in 21, 14, and 7milligram strengths, while
nicotrol patches are availableas 15, 10, and 5 milligram
(20:05):
patches.
The recommended dosing of theseproducts is based on the
patient's prior cigarette use.
So the nicoderm and genericnicotine patches should be worn
for 16 to 24 hours, and 24 hoursspecifically for patients who
(20:26):
crave a cigarette upon waking inthe morning.
And Nicotrol patches should beworn for 16 hours and they're
removed at bedtime, so you donot wear more than one patch at
a time either and don't cut thepatches in half.
Nicotine nasal spray.
Nicotrol is available byprescription only and is
(20:47):
supplied as 10 milliliterbottles containing nicotine with
a metered spray pump, and thedose of these should be
individualized based on thepatient's nicotine with a
metered spray pump, and the doseof these should be
individualized based on thepatient's nicotine dependence
and, for best results, use atleast eight doses per day, but
be sure to not use more thanfive doses per hour or 40 doses
(21:12):
per day.
The nicotine inhaler this isavailable also only by
prescription and they come incartridges.
The cartridges contain 10milligrams of nicotine and the
nicotine released from theinhaler is absorbed in the mouth
.
Use of this inhaler mimics thehand-to-mouth routine of
(21:35):
cigarette smoking.
Mimics the hand-to-mouthroutine of cigarette smoking.
Non-nicotine medications sothere are several non-nicotine
prescriptions that are approvedfor smoking sensation and these
include Rupopion excuse me is anon-nicotine prescription drug
approved for smoking sensationand it is available as a 150
(21:58):
milligram tablet and takes twoweeks for the drug to be
effective.
So the patient should plan tostop smoking within two weeks
after they start thisprescription drug.
Another non-nicotineprescription that is available
is varenicillin, also known aschantix and chantix is what my
(22:21):
dad chose to go with.
He had a few friends thatsuccessfully quit smoking by
taking chantix, so, um, he choseto do that.
Now it's interesting because heactually took chantix about two
years prior to being successful.
So his second time he took ithe was successful and quit, but
the first time he started it itdid not work for him.
(22:45):
And it was interesting it wasright when his mother, my
grandma, had gotten really,really sick and my dad was
having to do a lot with her andtake care of her, and his doctor
thinks that probably the stresshe had from that and then
starting that medication at thesame time was just, you know,
one of the reasons why thesmoking sensation did not work
(23:05):
that first time.
But it did work the second time.
And so that's where thatplanning ahead and picking a
date you know you don't want toprobably, if you're starting a
new job or going through anystressful time in your life,
want to choose the date right inthe middle of that to quit
smoking.
Chantix should be started oneweek before an established
(23:27):
smoking stop date and make sureto take it after eating and with
a full glass of water to helpreduce any upset stomachs.
Glass of water to help reduceany upset stomachs.
Well, I want to talk about nowvaping, because vaping is
becoming a huge trend, and notjust with adults, but with young
(23:52):
folks, teenagers.
So is vaping better thansmoking?
The American Heart Associationstates that the increase in
cigarette use, particularlyamong young people, is a
dangerous trend with real healthrisks.
For many reasons, e-cigarettesshould not be promoted as a safe
(24:14):
alternative to smoking,promoted as a safe alternative
to smoking.
While fewer people are smokingor starting to smoke than ever
before, many are using otherforms of tobacco and electronic
nicotine delivery systems.
And the increase in e-cigaretteuse or vaping by kids and young
people in recent years is aserious public health threat.
(24:36):
And I can you know I see that,having two teenagers.
I hear a lot of stories abouthow many teens in high school
are vaping and it is.
It's really really scarybecause they don't know what
they're putting in their mouth.
They don't know how bad it isfor them, you know, especially
if they're.
(24:57):
I know, I think there's lots ofthese that have the you know
what like yummy flavors, candyflavors, so they just probably
think, oh, it tastes like candy.
It can't be that bad, right.
However, it is bad for them andthe battery operated devices.
They come in many forms andthey look like conventional
(25:17):
cigarettes or pens or these,like sleek tech gadgets.
They almost look like thingsyou want to plug into your
laptop.
Users inhale and exhale avapor-like aerosol and this way
of taking in nicotine it poseshuge health risks to the users
and non-users around them.
E-cigarette promoters.
(25:38):
They claim the devices can helppeople quit smoking, but much
more evidence is needed todetermine if they are an
effective way to quit, andresearch suggests that users are
more likely to continue smokingcigarettes or other tobacco
along with vaping, which isreferred to as dual use.
(25:59):
So it's best to you know again,talk with your doctor and find
a safe way to stop smoking,because you'd hate to pick up
another habit.
Many people think vaping is lessharmful than smoking.
Well, it's true thate-cigarette aerosol doesn't
include all the contaminants intobacco smoke.
(26:21):
It still is not safe, and hereare a few reasons why.
One, most e-cigarettes delivernicotine, which is highly
addictive and can harm thedeveloping brains of teens, kids
, amphetises and women who vapewhile pregnant, and some types
(26:42):
expose users to even morenicotine than traditional
cigarettes.
In addition to nicotine,e-cigarette vapor includes
potentially harmful substancessuch as a chemical that's linked
to a serious lung disease,diacetyl, cancer-causing
chemicals, volatile organiccompounds and heavy metals such
(27:06):
as nickel, tin and lead.
Users breathe in these toxiccontaminants and non-users
nearby risk secondhand exposure.
The liquid used in e-cigarettescan be dangerous, even apart
from its intended use.
Children and adults have beenlike poisoned by swallowing,
(27:28):
breathing or absorbing theliquid through their skin or
eyes.
Boy E-cigarettes have also beenlinked to thousands of cases of
serious lung injury, someresulting in death.
I know I've heard stories aboutthis and it's so scary.
While the exact cause is stillnot confirmed, the CDC
(27:51):
recommends that people not usee-cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
It's the biggest threat topublic health and the increasing
popularity of vaping mayrenormalize smoking, which has
declined for years.
So, goodness gracious, we madeso much effort with getting that
message out right about howsmoking is bad for you and now
(28:12):
we have another crisis vaping.
So reversing these hard wongains in the global effort to
curb smoking would becatastrophic.
And smoking is still theleading preventable cause of
death, as we talked aboutearlier in the podcast.
You know being responsible forso many deaths in the US each
year and this really upsets meof having.
(28:34):
You know, being a mom of threekids, especially two teenagers,
how these tobacco companies wantto hook this new generation on
nicotine and smoking Again.
You know these yummy, gummybear flavors or you know these
sour flavors, again mimickingcandies and ice cream and fun
stuff and putting it in vapingand these companies.
(28:58):
They've spent more than $8.2billion on aggressive marketing,
and that was in 2019.
So imagine how much they'respending now.
That's more than $22 millioneach day and almost $1 million
every hour trying to market tokids and teens to start using
(29:20):
nicotine and smoking and vaping.
Nearly 76% of middle and highschool students that's all three
of mine, that's three out offour kids they have been exposed
to tobacco product advertisingand about 74% of these students
(29:45):
had seen e-cigarette relatedposts and content through social
media.
E-cigarettes are the mostcommon form of tobacco used by
kids and teens and over 2.1million youth are currently
using e-cigarettes, with adecline interesting in use by
high school students in the USin 2023, so a few years ago.
And many young people saythey've tried e-cigarettes
(30:07):
because of the appealing flavorsand among the youth currently
using e-cigarettes, almost nineout of 10 use the flavored ones.
The US Surgeon General callede-cigarette use among young
people a public health concern,and we know that the long-term
effects of e-cigarettes are notwell understood yet, but the
(30:32):
science clearly indicates vapingis not a safe or healthy
alternative to smoking forpeople of any age.
So we've talked a lot aboutquitting smoking and the
benefits of quitting smoking.
I want to quickly touch on thedangers of secondhand smoke.
(30:53):
So secondhand smoke is, youknow, the combination of smoke
from a burning cigarette andsmoke exhaled by a smoker, and
the smoke that burns off the endof a cigarette or cigar
actually contains more harmfulsubstances than the smoke that's
inhaled by the smoker.
This means that people whodon't smoke but are regularly
(31:17):
around those who smoke areexposed to the health risks of
cigarette smoking.
You know this would be somebodylike my mom, who's been with my
dad since she was 15 years old,which is when he started
smoking, and this can beextremely scary and another
reason why, if you smoke, pleasetry to quit, and I want to just
(31:42):
end this podcast episode withwhat's next if you are trying to
quit smoking.
So you need to decide to giveyourself the most precious gift
a smoker could give to him orherself, which is a gift of life
, health and self-esteem, bybecoming a non-smoker.
And you can do it.
(32:03):
I know you can Take these tipstalk with your doctor, get a
good support group around you,and can do it.
You know treatment costs lessthan a pack of cigarettes a day,
and so not only will youprobably save money in the long
run if you quit smoking, but youwill add years to your life.
(32:24):
Well, thank you for joining meand listening to this episode of
the Speaking of Women's Healthpodcast on smoking sensation.
Don't miss a future episode.
Please be sure to subscribe toour podcast.
We have so many great episodescoming up in 2025 season three
(32:46):
that you don't want to miss, andyou can subscribe wherever you
listen to podcasts.
And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your
friends and leave some five-starrating or review.
Thank you, and we'll see younext time in the Sunflower House
.
Be strong, be healthy, be incharge.
Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health
podcast.
I am your host, dr HollyThacker, and I'm back
temporarily today in theSunflower House.
I love bringing these podcaststo you, my audience, who I adore
(00:22):
, and we're bringing you greatcontent from
speakingofwomenshealthcom.
But, as you may or may not know, not only am I the executive
director of Speaking of Women'sHealth, but I also direct our
Center for Specialized Women'sHealth and run a specialty
women's health fellowship, and Iwant to keep giving you, our
(00:44):
listeners, the best content thatwe have on our site.
And so I want to introduce ourwonderful executive producer of
the podcast, leigh Kleckar, andshe is behind the scenes and our
social media manager forSpeaking of Women's Health, and
(01:05):
she is going to guest podcast,including today.
So take it away, leigh.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health
podcast.
I'm your guest host, leighKlecker, and I'm the producer of
the Speaking of Women's Healthpodcast, and I'm back in the
Sunflower House for a brand newepisode.
The topic for this new podcastepisode is smoking sensation,
and smoking sensation, alsoknown as quitting smoking, is
(01:38):
the process of stopping the useof tobacco products.
This is a really importanttopic and one we have not yet
discussed on the podcast, assmoking accounts for about
440,000 deaths yearly, and itcan be difficult to smoke.
It can be difficult, excuse me,to quit smoking due to the
(02:03):
nicotine addiction, which isboth mental and physical.
However, quitting smoking cangreatly reduce the risk of
developing serious healthproblems, including cancer, and,
according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,
tobacco product use remains theleading cause of preventable
(02:26):
disease and death in the UnitedStates.
In 2022, there were 49.2million people, or nearly one in
five US adults, who reportedcurrent tobacco product use.
One in five adults, that is alot of people.
(02:47):
That's 19.8% of our USpopulation and we know that
chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease or COPD, which is also
known as emphysema or chronicbronchitis, continually ranks
among the leading causes ofdeath in the United States.
(03:09):
But smoking is also a majorcause of cardiovascular disease,
heart and blood vessel disease,and smoking takes about 10
years off your life.
So this is something that wecan prevent.
We can prevent these diseasesby quitting smoking.
So a person's risk of heartattack greatly increases with
(03:34):
the number of cigarettes he orshe smokes, and we know from the
podcast episode that Dr Thackerdid in February.
We talked about heart diseaseand how to prevent certain types
of cardiovascular disease, likestroke, and there is no safe
(03:56):
amount of smoking, so smokersincrease their risk of heart
attack the longer they smoke.
People who smoke a pack ofcigarettes a day have more than
twice the risk of heart attackthan non-smokers, and women who
smoke and also use oralcontraceptives, like birth
control pills, increase severaltimes their risk of coronary and
(04:18):
peripheral artery diseases andheart attack and stroke,
compared with non-smoking womenwho use oral contraceptives.
So these are really reallyreally important things to know
if you are smoking and if theseare not enough reasons to quit
smoking, also know that smokingplays a role in all of these
(04:40):
diseases.
And here we go Lung cancer,heart disease, heart attacks and
stroke.
We just mentioned that Cancerof the mouth, larynx, esophagus,
lips and tongue.
Cancer of the pancreas, kidneybladder, stomach, colon and
liver.
Peripheral vascular disease,which is poor circulation,
(05:03):
asthma in children, low birthweight babies, sudden infant
death syndrome, early menopause.
I'm still going.
This list is long osteoporosis,cataracts, macular degeneration
, peptic ulcer disease, which isstomach ulcers, uterine and
cervical cancer, prematurewrinkles, decreased sense of
(05:25):
smell and infertility andimpotence.
That's a really long list andI'm sure you're well aware.
But did you know that there aredangerous chemicals in tobacco?
I mean, there are chemicals intobacco smoke that include
acetone, mercury, lead, nicotine, cadmium, carbon monoxide,
(05:49):
hydrogen, cyanide, arsenic,fennel, formaldehyde and DDT.
Gross right, I mean we hearabout this in the news a lot
like, oh, limit your lead intakeand how bad it is.
And you know, don't useproducts that formaldehyde in,
but if you're smoking you'reputting that in your mouth and
in your body every day.
(06:11):
You know, kind of going back towomen smokers, lung cancer
kills more women than breastcancer and breast cancer will
claim the lives of 41,000 womenthis year, while 68,000 women
will die of lung cancer.
22% of US women smoked.
(06:31):
This is back in 1998.
So it'd be interesting, youknow, there of course, we're
getting a lot of statistics thatare going to be later than we
are here in 2025.
Are here in 2025.
But there's also been a 600%increase in the lung cancer
(06:53):
death rate in women since 1950.
600% and since then we knowthat cancer or smoking leads to
lung cancer and all these otherdiseases that we just listed,
and there's been a 600% increase.
Also, adolescence and smoking Imean long-term nicotine
addiction results primarily fromtobacco use during adolescence,
and approximately 43% ofstudents in high school have
(07:18):
used tobacco.
The earlier the onset ofsmoking, the more severe
nicotine addiction is likely tobe.
And by age 17, 50% of smokershave tried to quit 17,.
Geez, and they fail.
Many regret having started inthe first place.
I know my dad said he startedwhen he was in high school and
(07:44):
somebody offered him a cigarette.
He said yes, due to peerpressure and that was a lifelong
habit of his, that he triedseveral times to quit and, good
news, he's now an ex-smoker, sowe could talk a little bit about
his success later on.
I'd like to mention thatbecause we're real proud of him
and just so you know.
You know he was a smoker.
(08:04):
Let's I'm going to say I can dothe math really quick at least
50 years.
So if he can do it, you can doit too.
A little bit more aboutadolescents, and you know the
impact that smoking and nicotinehas on them.
You know they, of adolescentswho smoke, 75% have one or both
(08:28):
parents who also smoke.
So let's talk about why youshould quit and the benefits of
quitting.
So there is good news when youquit smoking, quitting smoking
today, results in both immediateand long-term improvements in
health.
So when you quit, after 20minutes only 20 minutes the air
(08:50):
is less polluted around you,your blood pressure and pulse
start to decrease and thetemperature of your hands and
feet will increase.
I know my dad and he still doescomplain, but he always would
talk about how cold he was.
I never understood it untilI've done more research here
about smoking.
(09:12):
And so after eight hours ofstopping smoking, the carbon
monoxide level in your blooddrops to normal and your oxygen
levels in the blood increases.
After one day, 24 hours, yourchance of heart attack decreases
.
That's huge right.
And after 48 hours your nerveendings adjust to the absence of
(09:34):
the nicotine and your abilityto taste and smell begins to
return.
After 72 hours, your bronchialtubes relax.
Two weeks to three months afteryou've quit smoking, your
circulation will improve.
Your exercise toleranceimproves.
One to nine months after you'llnotice that your coughing, your
(09:58):
sinus congestion, your fatigueand shortness of breath all have
decreased.
The body's overall energy levelwill increase and you also have
that increase in the ability ofthe lungs to handle the mucus,
clean the lungs and reduceinfection.
So that could mean less likelyto get a type of respiratory
(10:22):
infection.
I know again I'll be mentioningthis a lot about my dad, but I
feel like it could be veryrelatable for a lot of people
out there who are wanting toquit.
He definitely noticed I mean heused to get a lot of
respiratory infections and thecoughing and that mucus cough
and he has said now you knowhe's a year and a half after
(10:45):
quitting I don't hear him thathacky cough, that's gone, I mean
, unless he becomes sick.
But really that's somethinghe's seen a huge, huge
improvement in.
Okay, back to our list.
One year after quitting smoking, the excess risk of heart
disease is decreased to half ofthat the smoker.
The excess risk of heartdisease is decreased to half of
(11:07):
that the smoker.
And five years after, the riskof stroke is reduced to that of
non-smokers Again huge.
Ten years after quittingsmoking, the risk of lung cancer
drops to as little as one halfthat of continuing smokers, and
the incidence of other cancerslike mouth, throat, esophagus,
bladder, kidney and pancreas.
(11:28):
They all decrease.
And if you are a 15 years, ifyou have quit smoking for 15
years, the risk of heart diseaseis now similar to that of
people who have never smoked andthe risk of death returns to
nearly the level of people whohave never smoked.
So a lot of benefits there.
(11:52):
Here's some more.
If you smoke, quitting is themost important step you can take
to protect your lungs, and it'snever too late to quit.
I mean, I mentioned how my dadwas in his sixties when he quit
mid sixties, and he's alreadyseen, you know, improvements in
his health and your body canshow drastic improvements, as we
(12:14):
mentioned, within minutes ofyour last cigarette and your
health can improve and you willfeel more lively and more
energetic.
So we're going to talk about afew more health benefits that
people receive after quittingsmoking.
So we talked about your abilityto breathe.
Even non-smokers experience adecrease in lung capacity, which
(12:36):
is the volume of air you'reable to take in and forcibly
exhale in one second.
With age, however, you canminimize the impact by quitting
smoking, and the earlier youquit, the more lung capacity you
will retain.
So if you have smoked anaverage of 30 cigarettes a day,
beginning at, say, age 25, yourlung capacity can decrease
(13:00):
slightly more than a non-smokerand would be below the average
capacity of a non-smoker by thetime you turn 40.
And furthermore, if you are asmoker at risk for chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease,which is a lung disease, your
lung capacity can decreaserapidly by age 65, at which
(13:21):
point you'll likely befrequently short of breath,
which isn't fun, I mean by thetime you get to retire.
You want to live a healthy life,you want to enjoy that
retirement after working so hard.
So don't let smoking, you know,hinder what you want to do with
the rest of your life.
And so how will you feel whenyou quit?
(13:41):
You may crave cigarettes, youmay feel very hungry, you may
cough, often get more headaches,have difficulty concentrating,
have constipation, may feel verytired, may have a sore throat
and you could have difficultysleeping.
Although these withdrawalsymptoms will be the strongest
(14:07):
when you first quit, they shouldgo away within a few weeks.
So how can you become anex-smoker If you feel
emotionally and mentallyprepared to quit smoking?
And you're quitting foryourself and not to please
someone else.
This is the first step in takingtowards healthy living and
there is no one right way tostop smoking or stop chewing
(14:29):
tobacco.
The right way is whatever worksfor you.
But before you crumple up yourlast cigarette pack, you do need
to plan ahead.
But before you crumple up yourlast cigarette pack, you do need
to plan ahead.
So there are some provenmethods that experts have said
that will successfully kick thenicotine habit.
They are number one pick a dateto stop smoking and stick to it
(14:51):
.
So plan ahead.
As we mentioned, make a list ofyour reasons for quitting and
read it every day before andafter you quit.
So you consider health reasonsas maybe one of those, or social
reasons.
My dad's was, you know.
I want to see my grandkids getmarried.
I want to, you know, be therewhen they graduate college,
(15:14):
graduate high school, when theygraduate college, graduate high
school.
Write down when you smoke, whyyou smoke and what you are doing
when you smoke, to learn yourtriggers.
So if it's maybe when you goout to socialize, that could be
a trigger Stress, you know,after work, lunch break, those
could be some triggers, I'm sure.
(15:34):
Make a list of the activitiesyou can do instead when you face
one of your smoking triggers.
So take a walk, maybe, exercise, drink a glass of water.
My dad chooses cookies and cake.
Luckily he's very active.
He also go outside and do a lotof yard work, so he was cutting
(15:55):
the grass like two or threetimes a week those first few
months after he quit smoking,but he still hasn't put a
cigarette in his mouth since.
So it works.
Experiment by going without asmoke in certain situations, so
maybe after lunch or afterdinner before you quit for good.
So try that.
Visualize yourself as anon-smoker.
(16:18):
So see yourself climbing stairseffortlessly or jogging easily.
Notice lines disappearing fromyour skin.
Yeah, share your plans to quitwith friends and family and
invite those who smoke to joinwith you.
So quitting together can makeit easier for some.
(16:39):
Ask your healthcare providerabout smoking cessation aids.
They really help.
Some people like over that hump.
So choices can be the nicotinereplacement gum patches,
inhalers, there's sublingualwhich is under the tongue,
tablets, there's lozenges ornasal spray, and then there's
prescription medications andsign up maybe for a smoking
(17:03):
cessation support group orprogram, and I know they have
those online as well.
So let's talk about some ofthese nicotine replacement
therapies and medications.
So, depending on yourpreferences, you can choose to
stop using tobacco throughmedicines containing nicotine or
not containing nicotine.
So both types of treatmentshave certain benefits and
(17:27):
drawbacks.
So it's up to you and yourdoctor to determine which method
is right for you.
Nicotine replacement therapy.
So let's talk about this for asec.
Prior to using any smokingsensation product that contains
nicotine, it is very importantto stop smoking and stop using
any other nicotine containingproducts.
(17:50):
Please carefully read thelabels of these medicines for
directions on product use andother really important
information.
Consult with your physicianbefore using any
over-the-counter nicotinereplacement therapy to make sure
these treatments are compatiblewith your current medications
(18:13):
and medical conditions.
So my dad also has rheumatoidarthritis and he definitely
needed to consult with hisphysician before he started on
the medication.
He chose to quit smoking andactually smoking is a risk
factor for rheumatoid arthritisbecause it's not in our family
(18:34):
and he was diagnosed withrheumatoid arthritis when he was
in his early fifties and he'smale.
So and make sure you store allof your medications, all of your
nicotine replacement medicationmedications, out of the reach
of children and pets.
We're going to talk about herethe nicotine gum and lozenges.
(18:56):
So those are available withouta prescription and you can get
them in two and four milligramdoses.
The dose for nicotine gum isbased on how much the patient
smokes per day.
So patients who smoked maybe 25or more cigarettes per day
should use probably the fourmilligram gum, should use
(19:20):
probably the four milligram gum,and those who smoked fewer than
25 cigarettes per day shoulduse the two milligram gum.
But again, make sure that youare talking with your doctor
before starting this.
Eating or drinking, except forwater, should be avoided 15
minutes before or after usingthe gum or the lozenges, and
acidic beverages can reduce theabsorption of nicotine and
(19:41):
shouldn't be consumed whilechewing the gum.
So transmedermal nicotinepatches these are available
without a prescription Nicodermand generic nicotine patches
they come in 21, 14, and 7milligram strengths, while
nicotrol patches are availableas 15, 10, and 5 milligram
(20:05):
patches.
The recommended dosing of theseproducts is based on the
patient's prior cigarette use.
So the nicoderm and genericnicotine patches should be worn
for 16 to 24 hours, and 24 hoursspecifically for patients who
(20:26):
crave a cigarette upon waking inthe morning.
And Nicotrol patches should beworn for 16 hours and they're
removed at bedtime, so you donot wear more than one patch at
a time either and don't cut thepatches in half.
Nicotine nasal spray.
Nicotrol is available byprescription only and is
(20:47):
supplied as 10 milliliterbottles containing nicotine with
a metered spray pump, and thedose of these should be
individualized based on thepatient's nicotine with a
metered spray pump, and the doseof these should be
individualized based on thepatient's nicotine dependence
and, for best results, use atleast eight doses per day, but
be sure to not use more thanfive doses per hour or 40 doses
(21:12):
per day.
The nicotine inhaler this isavailable also only by
prescription and they come incartridges.
The cartridges contain 10milligrams of nicotine and the
nicotine released from theinhaler is absorbed in the mouth
.
Use of this inhaler mimics thehand-to-mouth routine of
(21:35):
cigarette smoking.
Mimics the hand-to-mouthroutine of cigarette smoking.
Non-nicotine medications sothere are several non-nicotine
prescriptions that are approvedfor smoking sensation and these
include Rupopion excuse me is anon-nicotine prescription drug
approved for smoking sensationand it is available as a 150
(21:58):
milligram tablet and takes twoweeks for the drug to be
effective.
So the patient should plan tostop smoking within two weeks
after they start thisprescription drug.
Another non-nicotineprescription that is available
is varenicillin, also known aschantix and chantix is what my
(22:21):
dad chose to go with.
He had a few friends thatsuccessfully quit smoking by
taking chantix, so, um, he choseto do that.
Now it's interesting because heactually took chantix about two
years prior to being successful.
So his second time he took ithe was successful and quit, but
the first time he started it itdid not work for him.
(22:45):
And it was interesting it wasright when his mother, my
grandma, had gotten really,really sick and my dad was
having to do a lot with her andtake care of her, and his doctor
thinks that probably the stresshe had from that and then
starting that medication at thesame time was just, you know,
one of the reasons why thesmoking sensation did not work
(23:05):
that first time.
But it did work the second time.
And so that's where thatplanning ahead and picking a
date you know you don't want toprobably, if you're starting a
new job or going through anystressful time in your life,
want to choose the date right inthe middle of that to quit
smoking.
Chantix should be started oneweek before an established
(23:27):
smoking stop date and make sureto take it after eating and with
a full glass of water to helpreduce any upset stomachs.
Glass of water to help reduceany upset stomachs.
Well, I want to talk about nowvaping, because vaping is
becoming a huge trend, and notjust with adults, but with young
(23:52):
folks, teenagers.
So is vaping better thansmoking?
The American Heart Associationstates that the increase in
cigarette use, particularlyamong young people, is a
dangerous trend with real healthrisks.
For many reasons, e-cigarettesshould not be promoted as a safe
(24:14):
alternative to smoking,promoted as a safe alternative
to smoking.
While fewer people are smokingor starting to smoke than ever
before, many are using otherforms of tobacco and electronic
nicotine delivery systems.
And the increase in e-cigaretteuse or vaping by kids and young
people in recent years is aserious public health threat.
(24:36):
And I can you know I see that,having two teenagers.
I hear a lot of stories abouthow many teens in high school
are vaping and it is.
It's really really scarybecause they don't know what
they're putting in their mouth.
They don't know how bad it isfor them, you know, especially
if they're.
(24:57):
I know, I think there's lots ofthese that have the you know
what like yummy flavors, candyflavors, so they just probably
think, oh, it tastes like candy.
It can't be that bad, right.
However, it is bad for them andthe battery operated devices.
They come in many forms andthey look like conventional
(25:17):
cigarettes or pens or these,like sleek tech gadgets.
They almost look like thingsyou want to plug into your
laptop.
Users inhale and exhale avapor-like aerosol and this way
of taking in nicotine it poseshuge health risks to the users
and non-users around them.
E-cigarette promoters.
(25:38):
They claim the devices can helppeople quit smoking, but much
more evidence is needed todetermine if they are an
effective way to quit, andresearch suggests that users are
more likely to continue smokingcigarettes or other tobacco
along with vaping, which isreferred to as dual use.
(25:59):
So it's best to you know again,talk with your doctor and find
a safe way to stop smoking,because you'd hate to pick up
another habit.
Many people think vaping is lessharmful than smoking.
Well, it's true thate-cigarette aerosol doesn't
include all the contaminants intobacco smoke.
(26:21):
It still is not safe, and hereare a few reasons why.
One, most e-cigarettes delivernicotine, which is highly
addictive and can harm thedeveloping brains of teens, kids
, amphetises and women who vapewhile pregnant, and some types
(26:42):
expose users to even morenicotine than traditional
cigarettes.
In addition to nicotine,e-cigarette vapor includes
potentially harmful substancessuch as a chemical that's linked
to a serious lung disease,diacetyl, cancer-causing
chemicals, volatile organiccompounds and heavy metals such
(27:06):
as nickel, tin and lead.
Users breathe in these toxiccontaminants and non-users
nearby risk secondhand exposure.
The liquid used in e-cigarettescan be dangerous, even apart
from its intended use.
Children and adults have beenlike poisoned by swallowing,
(27:28):
breathing or absorbing theliquid through their skin or
eyes.
Boy E-cigarettes have also beenlinked to thousands of cases of
serious lung injury, someresulting in death.
I know I've heard stories aboutthis and it's so scary.
While the exact cause is stillnot confirmed, the CDC
(27:51):
recommends that people not usee-cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
It's the biggest threat topublic health and the increasing
popularity of vaping mayrenormalize smoking, which has
declined for years.
So, goodness gracious, we madeso much effort with getting that
message out right about howsmoking is bad for you and now
(28:12):
we have another crisis vaping.
So reversing these hard wongains in the global effort to
curb smoking would becatastrophic.
And smoking is still theleading preventable cause of
death, as we talked aboutearlier in the podcast.
You know being responsible forso many deaths in the US each
year and this really upsets meof having.
(28:34):
You know, being a mom of threekids, especially two teenagers,
how these tobacco companies wantto hook this new generation on
nicotine and smoking Again.
You know these yummy, gummybear flavors or you know these
sour flavors, again mimickingcandies and ice cream and fun
stuff and putting it in vapingand these companies.
(28:58):
They've spent more than $8.2billion on aggressive marketing,
and that was in 2019.
So imagine how much they'respending now.
That's more than $22 millioneach day and almost $1 million
every hour trying to market tokids and teens to start using
(29:20):
nicotine and smoking and vaping.
Nearly 76% of middle and highschool students that's all three
of mine, that's three out offour kids they have been exposed
to tobacco product advertisingand about 74% of these students
(29:45):
had seen e-cigarette relatedposts and content through social
media.
E-cigarettes are the mostcommon form of tobacco used by
kids and teens and over 2.1million youth are currently
using e-cigarettes, with adecline interesting in use by
high school students in the USin 2023, so a few years ago.
And many young people saythey've tried e-cigarettes
(30:07):
because of the appealing flavorsand among the youth currently
using e-cigarettes, almost nineout of 10 use the flavored ones.
The US Surgeon General callede-cigarette use among young
people a public health concern,and we know that the long-term
effects of e-cigarettes are notwell understood yet, but the
(30:32):
science clearly indicates vapingis not a safe or healthy
alternative to smoking forpeople of any age.
So we've talked a lot aboutquitting smoking and the
benefits of quitting smoking.
I want to quickly touch on thedangers of secondhand smoke.
(30:53):
So secondhand smoke is, youknow, the combination of smoke
from a burning cigarette andsmoke exhaled by a smoker, and
the smoke that burns off the endof a cigarette or cigar
actually contains more harmfulsubstances than the smoke that's
inhaled by the smoker.
This means that people whodon't smoke but are regularly
(31:17):
around those who smoke areexposed to the health risks of
cigarette smoking.
You know this would be somebodylike my mom, who's been with my
dad since she was 15 years old,which is when he started
smoking, and this can beextremely scary and another
reason why, if you smoke, pleasetry to quit, and I want to just
(31:42):
end this podcast episode withwhat's next if you are trying to
quit smoking.
So you need to decide to giveyourself the most precious gift
a smoker could give to him orherself, which is a gift of life
, health and self-esteem, bybecoming a non-smoker.
And you can do it.
(32:03):
I know you can Take these tipstalk with your doctor, get a
good support group around you,and can do it.
You know treatment costs lessthan a pack of cigarettes a day,
and so not only will youprobably save money in the long
run if you quit smoking, but youwill add years to your life.
(32:24):
Well, thank you for joining meand listening to this episode of
the Speaking of Women's Healthpodcast on smoking sensation.
Don't miss a future episode.
Please be sure to subscribe toour podcast.
We have so many great episodescoming up in 2025 season three
(32:46):
that you don't want to miss, andyou can subscribe wherever you
listen to podcasts.
And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your
friends and leave some five-starrating or review.
Thank you, and we'll see younext time in the Sunflower House
.
Be strong, be healthy, be incharge.
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