Tobacco

It is no secret that cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Yet, tobacco use can lead to dependence. Many people try multiple times to quit using tobacco products. Today there are effective treatments and resources for quitting.

Health Benefits of Quitting Tobacco Over Time

• 20 minutes - reduced heart rate and blood pressure
• 12 hours - normalized level of carbon monoxide in your blood
• 2 week to 3 months - improved circulation and lung function
• 1 to 9 months - decreased coughing/shortness of breath and normalized lung functioning
• 1 year - reduced risk of coronary heart disease, though still a greater risk than a nonsmoker
• 5 years - reduced risk of stroke
• 10 years - reduced risk of lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix and pancreatic cancer
• 15 years - reduced risk of coronary heart disease to that of a nonsmoker

The Effects of Secondhand Smoke

In adults who have never smoked, secondhand smoke can cause heart disease and/or lung cancer.

• For nonsmokers, breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk for heart attack. People who already have heart disease are at especially high risk
• Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25–30%.
• Secondhand smoke exposure causes an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States.
• Nonsmokers who are exposed to second hand smoke at home or work increase their lung cancer risk by 20-30%

Social Smoking

Social smokers light up regularly but not daily. They only have a cigarette when they go out with friends and drink. They think, "I will smoke a little in social situations and quit later." The facts about social smoking include:

• There is really no safe amount of smoking.
• One cigarette can lead to another.
• If you smoke at all you are at an increased risk for cancer and heart disease.
• Second hand smoke is dangerous.
• Social smoking can lead to regular smoking.
• The bottom line: choose not to smoke. Not when you drink, not when you study, not when you are out with friends.

Hookah

Some people believe that smoking hookah is safer than smoking cigarettes because the hookah smoke is filtered through water before it is inhaled. The truth is smoking hookah has the same risks as smoking cigarettes. Hookah smokers actually inhale more nicotine than do cigarette smokers because of the massive volume of smoke they inhale. Also, the smoke produced still contains high level of toxic compounds and carcinogens.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Quitting Smoking.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2015 Oct 5].

www.who.int

Changing for Good

How many times have you vowed to start exercising, eat healthier, get more sleep, reduce stress or quit using tobacco without taking any action toward your goals? Or slipped back into engaging in unhealthy habits after experiencing some life challenges and disruptions? Behavior change is a process that occurs in several stages. Understanding the stages of behavior change and determining where you are in the process will help you successfully move from one stage to another, change your behavior and live a healthy lifestyle.

The Stages of Change, also known as the Transtheoretical Model, features six stages – precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination. While individuals can progress through the stages in a linear fashion, often individuals recycle through the stages. Most often, individuals start with the action stage and end up not reaching their goals due to not thinking about their behavior long enough or preparing to change. Each Stage of Change has certain characteristics and a variety of strategies to utilize to help you successfully move from one stage to another.

• Pre-contemplation: Not ready to change
  • Characteristics:
    • Have no interest in or are not considering changing current behavior in the next few months
    • May be in denial about negative effects of the behavior or not consider it serious
    • May have tried to change many times before and have given up
    • Could be depressed and defensive
  • Strategies
    • Think about the positives and negatives of the behavior for yourself and others
    • Learn more about the risks of the current behavior and the benefits of changing the behavior

• Contemplation: Thinking about change
  • Characteristics:
    • Considering changing behavior
    • Intend to change behavior within the next six months
    • May be ambivalent about changing
  • Strategies
    • Think about the benefits of changing behavior
    • Identify barriers to change and support systems
    • Reduce the negatives associated with behavior change

• Preparation: Getting ready to change
  • Characteristics:
    • Decided to change behavior
    • Planning to take action within the next 30 days
  • Strategies
    • Make a plan, set realistic goals and timeline
    • Tell friends and family members and ask for support
    • Research and select resources
    • Prepare how to deal with obstacles, stressors and relapse

• Action: Initiated change
  • Characteristics:
    • Took definitive action to change behavior (several days to six months)
  • Strategies
    • Keep practicing the new behavior
    • Celebrate and reward progress – daily, weekly and monthly
    • Remain aware of obstacles, stressors and temptation to return to previous behavior
    • Connect with support system regularly
    • Learn from slips and setbacks

• Maintenance: Maintaining Change
  • Characteristics:
    • New behavior changed and sustained for six months or longer
  • Strategies
    • Share experience and support others
    • Continue to utilize support system
    • Maintain self-awareness and confidence
    • Learn from slips and setbacks

• Termination: Change Established
  • Characteristics:
    • Not temped to return to previous behavior
    • New behavior has become a habit
    • Sure one will not return to unhealthy habit as a way of coping
  • Strategies
    • Remain aware of temptation to return to unhealthy habit when experiencing stress or life changes
    • Continue to utilize support system
    • Share experience and support others

To learn more about Stages of Change, view the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change video and review the book Changing for Good: A Revolutionary Six-Stage Program for Overcoming Bad Habits and Moving Your Life Positively Forward.

Prepare to be Tobacco-free

• Make the decision to quit and stick to it
• Set a quit date and make a plan
• Select resources and choose quit aids
• Plan how you will deal with withdrawal and relapse
• Maintain and enjoy a tobacco-free lifestyle

Living Tobacco-free

Quitting tobacco is a process that occurs over time with hard work and commitment. Living tobacco-free is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and offers many health benefits. Understanding stress, surrounding yourself with support, utilizing resources, awareness of thoughts and emotions, embracing new habits and expanding your coping skills now and in the future will give you the strength to continue to fork the smoke!

Become familiar with quitting resources that can support your success.These can be found in the resources tab, below.

Do you know a friend or family member who is trying to quit tobacco? You can play an important role in helping someone you know become tobacco-free.

A great resource for information on how to help someone else quit using tobacco is at smokefree.gov.

Become familiar with quitting resources that support their success. These can be found in the resources tab, below.

Your First Step to Change: Smoking

Provides a guide to help you better understand your tobacco use, figure out if you need to change your habits, and decide the best way to change. If you are concerned about your smoking, this guide is for you. Provided through the Division on Addictions, Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

Quitting resources for students

• ASU Health Services: Meet with a provider and discuss a personalized cessation plan.
• ASU Counseling Services: Staff are available to support you in making a decision to quit tobacco, identify what assistance you need to quit, explain on- and off-campus quit resources and connect you to these resources.

Quitting resources for faculty and staff

• ASU Employee Wellness: Employee Wellness offers educational classes and information about smoking cessation programs for ASU employees considering quitting.
• ASU Employee Assistance Office: offers individual and small group coaching sessions for ASU employees interested in quitting.
• Benefits Options Tobacco-Free Program: is the state employee tobacco cessation program. Pharmacists help you choose the right medication for you and expert coaches help you set goals and quit for good. 24/7 support is available to keep you on track and medications covered at no cost to employees. Contact 1-866-218-6646 for details. 

Community and national quit partners

• ASHLine: Free web-based and telephone coaching support to help all Arizonans quit. 1-800-55-66-222
• Smokefree.gov: This website offers support for quitting tobacco, and for supporting others' quit efforts.
• Tobacco Free Arizona Resources: Information, fact sheets, media resources and more for all Arizonans.
• American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking Online: Online smoking cessation program.
• BecomeAnEX: The EX Plan is a free quit smoking program that helps you re-learn your life without cigarettes. 
• IGNITE: Whether you’re an advocate for wellness, believe in the right to smoke free air, or a tobacco user that wants to overcome addiction and breathe easier, IGNITE has the resources to assist you and can provide a place for your voice to be heard.

ASU's tobacco-free policy:  ACD 804-Tobacco-Free Campus