New York could become the first state requiring all outpatient addiction treatment programs to help their clients quit smoking under proposed legislation. The law would only encourage alcoholics and drug addicts to quit smoking, not require it. Those who agree to quit smoking would be provided with treatment including drugs to relieve cravings, while patients who refuse to quit could still be treated for other addictions as long as they don't smoke in the treatment facilities. The ban would also apply to treatment center workers. Whether this will increase the success rates of alcohol and drug rehab is in dispute.
New Jersey has required residential addiction programs to treat nicotine addiction and be smoke-free since 2001, but officials in New York say it would be the first state to require smoking cessation efforts in outpatient programs, which account for two-thirds of the 1,100 treatment alcohol and drug rehab programs in the state. Programs in New York that fail to comply with the smoking regulations could lose state certification and would have to stop treating clients.
It has generally been thought that asking patients to quit smoking while fighting addictions to alcohol or drugs like heroin or cocaine is asking too much. But state officials say a deeper understanding about addiction "triggers" and the dangers of tobacco itself have changed the consensus. Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo, the commissioner of the substance abuse agency that oversees all state-sanctioned alcohol and drug rehab facilities, said in a written statement, "We now know that's not true. Including tobacco dependence while treating other addictions actually leads to higher recovery success rates. We need to focus on the overall wellness of our patients and not ignore this deadly addiction."
However, the higher recovery success rates Carpenter-Palumbo refers to are disputed in the scientific community. One recent study from the University of Minnesota found that recovery rates are actually lower if patients are weaned off cigarettes while they are trying to break free of alcohol or drugs. And according to Dr. Richard Hurt, the director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic, most studies have shown that treating nicotine addiction along with alcohol and drug addiction has no effect on treatment effectiveness.
According to the U.S. National Institute against Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), between 80 and 95 per cent of alcoholics smoke cigarettes - three times higher than among the general population. And a recent Research Society on Alcoholism study using advanced magnetic resonance imaging on human brains found that cigarette smoking not only worsens alcohol-induced brain damage (which was already known) it also causes brain damage by itself. And there are strong links between some forms of cancer and the combination of drinking and smoking.
So it seems uncertain at this point if quitting smoking will help alcohol and drug abusers recover from their addictions and stay clean after completing alcohol or drug rehab. But even if only for the improvements in long-term mental and physical health, it seems to be a good idea to try quitting smoking while recovering from addiction at an alcohol or drug rehab center.
Showing posts with label Nicotine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicotine. Show all posts
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A Reality Check - Quit Smoking
As smoking laws make it more and more difficult for people to smoke outside their homes, it could be a good incentive to give it up.
Smoking has been banned in most public places including your favorite pub, so what are you going to do, stare into your beer and brood on the unfairness of it all - try to quit smoking, its definitely a better alternative. People are often discriminated against in offices and other places because of smoking and to many people the smell of tobacco is offensive. Another very good reason to consider giving up this bad habit is your health; 'smoking kills' is being printed in bigger and bolder letters on every pack sold. Tobacco companies have had to pay out huge sums when they were sued by cancer patients and the courts ruled in the patient's favor. Yet another reason to quit would be, second hand smoke is killing your loved ones. Puffing up a storm at home is endangering the lives of your family because second hand smoke is deadly.
You will find plenty of advice on the internet about tips to quit smoking, ten best ways to stop smoking and so on. Reading all the books in creation, using patches, chewing gum, none of it works if the will to stop smoking does not come from deep inside you. Anyone who advises you to cut down slowly till you stop is living a fool's dream! As long as your body gets the daily dose of nicotine you are never going to stop. The only way is to make a firm decision, throw away every single pack of cigarettes and all your lighters and STOP!
It will not be easy but you can do it! Good Luck!
Smoking has been banned in most public places including your favorite pub, so what are you going to do, stare into your beer and brood on the unfairness of it all - try to quit smoking, its definitely a better alternative. People are often discriminated against in offices and other places because of smoking and to many people the smell of tobacco is offensive. Another very good reason to consider giving up this bad habit is your health; 'smoking kills' is being printed in bigger and bolder letters on every pack sold. Tobacco companies have had to pay out huge sums when they were sued by cancer patients and the courts ruled in the patient's favor. Yet another reason to quit would be, second hand smoke is killing your loved ones. Puffing up a storm at home is endangering the lives of your family because second hand smoke is deadly.
You will find plenty of advice on the internet about tips to quit smoking, ten best ways to stop smoking and so on. Reading all the books in creation, using patches, chewing gum, none of it works if the will to stop smoking does not come from deep inside you. Anyone who advises you to cut down slowly till you stop is living a fool's dream! As long as your body gets the daily dose of nicotine you are never going to stop. The only way is to make a firm decision, throw away every single pack of cigarettes and all your lighters and STOP!
It will not be easy but you can do it! Good Luck!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Second-Hand Smoking - Smoking Law Change in South Africa
Imagine yourself in your home in South Africa. It is a quiet moment, as you relax in front of the TV, or maybe you are in your garden enjoying the sunshine. Birds are singing in the trees, the sky is blue, you have earned a well-deserved time off and you feel good.
All of a sudden, you are ambushed. Two heroin addicts have broken into your home and are pinning you down. You cannot move. One is preparing a hypodermic needle. You instinctively know it has heroin in it and you want to scream "No!" but you are held down and silenced and there is nothing you can do but watch as the needle sinks into your vein and you feel the drug in your blood, along with whatever impurities were added to it. The heroin addicts saunter away, smirking at you, for even trying to stop this assault.
The next day, your body goes through a terrible reaction to the after-effects of this toxic injection. You become ill and have to take time off work. And just as you thought it was safe, the heroin addicts break into your home, one pins you down, and the other is holding a syringe and smirking at you. You know what is going to happen next and you are powerless to stop it...
Imagine this happening every day in your own home. Imagine that you now have to keep all your windows closed at all times, keep your eye on the lock, and be careful all the time. And then, when you think you are safe to go out to work or the shops, all of a sudden, you are ambushed again. You recognize the heroin addicts. Only this time there are four of them, you see the needle, you see them smirking at you, and you feel sick to your stomach knowing what is about to happen to you...
It is really awful, is it not? But if you are a smoker smoking illegally, then you are that addict. You are forcing your neighbour to take a drug that they choose not to take. You are forcing them to take this drug into their bloodstream whether they like it or not. If your workplace is near someone's home and you force them to smoke when you do, you are just like those heroin-injecting thugs in this story. It is one thing being an addict, and of course, the addiction is just that - something one cannot help. However, the law is now here to stop you from forcing innocent people to take your drug in their bloodstream.
Not convinced? Here are some facts that you may be interested in...
* The owner of a workplace, including pub, bar, restaurant, beauty salon, hairdresser, or any other workplace can be fined up to R50,000 if their premises breach the smoking laws.
* Not only can the owner of this establishment be fined, but you personally can be fined R500 for smoking in a non-smoking zone.
* Non-smoking zones include partially enclosed public places such as covered patios (such as by a roof or awnings), verandas, balconies, walkways, lifts, and parking areas.You can face up to your addiction and do something about it. Quitting may be much easier than you think.
Everyone should have the right to choose and the right to freedom. Nobody is taking away a smoker's addiction. That is a smoker's right. It was my right too when I was a smoker, and I know from experience how I just could not cope without nicotine. I would not suggest taking away an addict's drug; that is their choice, and that choice must be respected. I have been there myself. However, now it is now law that smokers must not take their drug in forms that are harmful to others in public places. And that also must be respected.
All of a sudden, you are ambushed. Two heroin addicts have broken into your home and are pinning you down. You cannot move. One is preparing a hypodermic needle. You instinctively know it has heroin in it and you want to scream "No!" but you are held down and silenced and there is nothing you can do but watch as the needle sinks into your vein and you feel the drug in your blood, along with whatever impurities were added to it. The heroin addicts saunter away, smirking at you, for even trying to stop this assault.
The next day, your body goes through a terrible reaction to the after-effects of this toxic injection. You become ill and have to take time off work. And just as you thought it was safe, the heroin addicts break into your home, one pins you down, and the other is holding a syringe and smirking at you. You know what is going to happen next and you are powerless to stop it...
Imagine this happening every day in your own home. Imagine that you now have to keep all your windows closed at all times, keep your eye on the lock, and be careful all the time. And then, when you think you are safe to go out to work or the shops, all of a sudden, you are ambushed again. You recognize the heroin addicts. Only this time there are four of them, you see the needle, you see them smirking at you, and you feel sick to your stomach knowing what is about to happen to you...
It is really awful, is it not? But if you are a smoker smoking illegally, then you are that addict. You are forcing your neighbour to take a drug that they choose not to take. You are forcing them to take this drug into their bloodstream whether they like it or not. If your workplace is near someone's home and you force them to smoke when you do, you are just like those heroin-injecting thugs in this story. It is one thing being an addict, and of course, the addiction is just that - something one cannot help. However, the law is now here to stop you from forcing innocent people to take your drug in their bloodstream.
Not convinced? Here are some facts that you may be interested in...
* The owner of a workplace, including pub, bar, restaurant, beauty salon, hairdresser, or any other workplace can be fined up to R50,000 if their premises breach the smoking laws.
* Not only can the owner of this establishment be fined, but you personally can be fined R500 for smoking in a non-smoking zone.
* Non-smoking zones include partially enclosed public places such as covered patios (such as by a roof or awnings), verandas, balconies, walkways, lifts, and parking areas.You can face up to your addiction and do something about it. Quitting may be much easier than you think.
Everyone should have the right to choose and the right to freedom. Nobody is taking away a smoker's addiction. That is a smoker's right. It was my right too when I was a smoker, and I know from experience how I just could not cope without nicotine. I would not suggest taking away an addict's drug; that is their choice, and that choice must be respected. I have been there myself. However, now it is now law that smokers must not take their drug in forms that are harmful to others in public places. And that also must be respected.
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