NICOTINE Tips to help you quit ... at long last

An expert says most people try to quit three times before they are successful.
By MARY MEEHAN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Nobody wants to quit smoking, according to Richard Clayton, a drug addiction expert who created a stop-smoking program with a fellow University of Kentucky professor.
"It's hard for them to see themselves not smoking," Clayton said of heavy smokers. "It's something that fits with their self-identities."
People who say they love to smoke aren't just in denial, he said. They do love it. But they also know it's killing them and often are looking for a way out.
Most people have tried to quit at least three times before they are successful, said Clayton, who created the Cooper-Clayton Method with Thomas Cooper, a retired University of Kentucky dentistry professor.
Most women relapse because of weight gain or the fear of weight gain, Clayton said. Most men relapse because they fall back into old habits, like hanging out with their smoking buddies.
Nicotine replacement
One of the keys to quitting and not starting again, he said, is to use a nicotine-replacement method. Clayton and his partner have combed through the clinical-trial information submitted to the government to determine which brands get the nicotine to the brain the fastest.
They suggest 4 milligram Nicorette gum, the NicoDerm patch and the NiQuitin lozenges created by Glaxo Smith Kline.
Angry at giving up your favorite pastime? Clayton suggests using the gum or the lozenges because you have more control over when you receive a dose of nicotine, and it allows you to be more active. Slapping on a patch in the morning is a more passive approach.
Healthier by the minute
When smokers quit, what are the benefits over time?
U20 minutes after quitting: Blood pressure drops to a level close to what it was before the last cigarette. The temperature of hands and feet increases to normal.
UEight hours after quitting: Carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal.
U24 hours after quitting: Chance of a heart attack decreases.
UTwo weeks to three months after quitting: Circulation improves, and lung function increases as much as 30 percent.
UOne to nine months after quitting: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease as the cilia (tiny hairlike structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function.
UOne year after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
UFive to 15 years after quitting: Stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker.
U10 years after quitting: Lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker's. Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreases.