In Sickness & In Health: Help for breaking the smoking habit

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death for men and women and 90 percent of lung cancer among men is caused by smoking.

Quitting is tough, but there are those standing by to help.

Believe it or not, there was a time when smoking was thought to be cool. Not any more - but quitting can be a challenge.

"Quitting smoking is difficult because of the issue of tobacco dependence which is based on one or for most smokers a combination of the following: a physical addiction, a habit-related addiction or an emotional addiction," said treatment specialist Kanani Kilbey.

No single way to quit works for everybody - but virtually everybody will need support.

"Without medications and or coaching, which is the most effective way for people to quit smoking, it's really difficult, it's hard to quit cold turkey," Kilbey says.

And smoking is not just bad for the smokers themselves. Evidence indicates second hand smoke can be harmful for the people around them, especially children. Castle Medical Center is providing support for Kanani and her colleagues.

"It's directly supported by the hospital so it allows us as certified tobacco treatment specialist to to visit inpatients who are staying here at the hospital and provide brief intervention," she says.

The program at Castle interviews patients who might be undergoing other treatments to find out if they want to stop smoking.

"We provide medications - patches, gum and lozenges. They're virtually free of charge because we are grant-funded. It's a great program. We do provide follow-up calls," Kilbey says.

If you are a smoker and you have tried to quit and failed - take heart.

"The average person takes nine to eleven attempts to quit smoking so obviously, it's not an easy road but with coaching and medications it will really help you along the way," Kilbey says.

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