All Doors Are Not Closed To Would Be Ex-Smoker
Joanne Scribner’s recent article, “Smoking Mad,” describes the plight of a smoker who spends time in the hospital with a broken leg.
Because smoking is not allowed she is given nicotine patches to help ease the discomfort of withdrawal from cigarettes. After a week she decides that she enjoys being smoke-free and would like to continue wearing the patch to help her try to quit smoking, but she can’t get a prescription.
Her surgeon won’t write one and neither will any of the other doctors she contacts. Joanne doesn’t have a personal physician. She says she can’t afford one. She concludes that in order to stop smoking you have to get the patches. And in order to get the patches, you have to have money and connections. She asks why she can’t get the help she needs to quit smoking.
Well, Joanne, we’re glad you asked. We hope this response helps you as well as any other smokers who would like to be nonsmokers.
Thank you for doing such a great job of describing the dangerous addiction of tobacco. Reading about your feelings and experiences may help stop a teen from taking up the habit or encourage a long-time smoker to consider quitting. Hearing about the risks of smoking always has more punch when it comes from a smoker than from a nonsmoker.
The nicotine patch is classified as a prescription drug by the FDA. It is not the miracle answer to quitting smoking. Studies done by the manufacturers of the patches have shown that smokers who use the patch without supportive classes or counseling have only an 8 percent chance of quitting and remaining smoke-free for one year. With classes or counseling, smokers have a 28 percent chance. Quite a difference! At Group Health, our classes have a 34 percent success rate at a one-year follow-up.
With the high cost of medical care, paying for a drug which has only an 8 percent chance of working is a pretty costly venture. But finding a way to increase its effectiveness is a wise strategy, as the manufacturers of the patches realized when they recommended classes in conjunction with patches.
The reason you were given patches without having to take a class first is because smoking is not allowed in hospitals. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke causes others to have an increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections, emphysema, cancer, and heart disease. Environmental tobacco smoke has been classified as a Class A carcinogen known to cause cancer in humans. Smokers are given patches while in the hospital to ease their discomfort from not being allowed to smoke. Doctors are willing to prescribe patches while patients are in the hospital because patients are under their care and medically supervised while wearing them.
Before doctors prescribe patches for their patients they look at medical histories and other medications being used. In some cases the patch may not be appropriate. A surgeon or consultant would need to check with a patient’s personal physician before writing a prescription for the patch and won’t prescribe for patients who are not (or will not be) under their care.
Personal physicians usually go out of their way to help their patients quit smoking.
Affording a personal physician is an issue many people face. A three-pack-a-day smoker, however, spends about $6 per day on cigarettes. That’s $42 per week, $168 per month, and $2,016 per year. If a physician office visit to obtain a patch prescription is about $45 and patches are about $100 per month, you can afford both if you are not paying for three packs of cigarettes a day.
You don’t have to be rich or have connections, just a personal physician - not a bad idea for other reasons too!
Joanne, in your mind the steps you need to take to get the patches are barriers. In actuality, those steps are designed to be opportunities to quit smoking in a safe, medically supervised way that will increase your chance of success. You don’t need someone in power to help you - you have the power to help yourself!
We’re glad you asked, and we wish you every success in becoming tobacco-free!
xxxx