TrPehesS Seven-Year Study Shows Successful Stop-Smoking Strategy (NAPSA)—If yow’re a smoker who just can’t quit, there’s hope. New medical research shows there’s a simple way to satisfy your nicotine cravings and reduce health risks—while still enjoying tobacco. New “invisible” smokeless tobacco products, shown to be 98 percent safer than cigarettes, deliver similar nicotine levels with none of the deadly smoke. They’re the key to ing programs have attempted to measure success rates for periods over a year, primarily because of abysmal long-term results,” said Dr. Brad Rodu, professor of pathology and a seniorscientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Life-Saving System Years of clinical research support a simple self-help smoking cessation program known as “For a university-proven stop-smok- ing plan that can saveyourlife. The Problem According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half a million Americans die from smoking-related illnesses every year. The problem for many smokers is that cigarettes efficiently deliver nicotine, an addictive drug. But cigarettes also produce carbon monoxide, tar condensate and about 3,000 other by-products, many of which can make you sick and significantly reduce yourlifespan. A Solution Former smoker Dr. Richard Weems, associate professor of dental radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says, “Quitting tobacco alto- Giving up cigarettes can be a lot easier when you don’t have to give up nicotine at the same time. Smokers Only.”It differs, says Dr. Rodu, in two important ways from conventional approaches. First, it gether wasn’t an option for me, requires minimal intervention. “Most quit-smoking strategies have significantly reduced my risk.” Today’s smokeless tobacco products come in fresh flavors and can be used invisibly, anytime and anywhere, much like breath mints. They’re a way to end those cold and rainy sidewalk smoke breaks. The Research Arecent study in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs found that 75 percent of smokers who quit cigarettes by switching to smokeless tobacco werestill smoke-free after seven years. “Very few quit-smok- To learn more about smokeless tobacco research and this quit-smoking strategy, visit www.uab.edu/smokersonly. but with smokeless, at least I require intensive behavior modification and frequent counseling sessions to deal with nicotine withdrawal issues. There is no withdrawal in our program. “A second feature is that nicotine maintenance with smokeless tobacco can be permanent, if necessary. Tobacco abstinence is not required to gain substantial health benefits.” Learn More
