the peace they can experience with practicing this awareness . I reassure the patient that I really want to partner with them to help them quit . I encourage the patient to work on getting their mind in the right place and to let me know as soon as they feel like they are ready to quit .
Of course , my experience may vary from other chosen methods used for smoking cessation . However , my belief and reasoning for this approach is that slowing down and being intentional at the early stages of the process will likely get at the root of the problem and have a significantly higher chance of success .
Many patients have heard of people who have complained of side effects to Chantix and are reluctant to try it for that reason but would have otherwise been interested . Explaining ways to mitigate risk of side effects usually helps most people get past the potential side effect barrier . I explain that drinking eight ounces of water and eating before they take the medicine usually helps eliminate a lot of the nausea people experience and cutting the evening dose in half or completely eliminating the evening dose can sometimes eliminate bad dreams if they occur .
At this point , I explain that making the decision to quit and setting a quit date are the only two things that are necessary to be successful quitting . Sometimes this fact is helpful for those who want to believe that their success or failure in quitting depends on whether the smoking cessation medicine or nicotine product is successful in making them quit . I ask them if they remember the quit date we just set and encourage them to solidify this date in their mind right then , to plant their stake firmly in the ground , and tell themselves that they will quit on this date . I also advise them to start calling themselves ( saying to themselves in their minds ) “ non-smokers .”
The number 3 rule of quitting smoking is that people who take all the help they can get have a higher success rate of quitting , and that I am their help along with whatever smoking cessation product they chose .
The number 4 rule of quitting smoking is that people who go for a scheduled walk for at least 15 minutes per day have a higher success rate of quitting and are more likely to not gain weight .
The number 5 rule of quitting smoking is that people who follow-up within two weeks of their quit date have a higher rate of success quitting .
The truth is that I rarely discuss rules 3 , 4 and 5 with people because the first two are the real keys to success .
Teaching mindfulness , putting the patient in charge of choosing the date and doing the work , helping with the medical tools available plus my strong support : these are the keys . Good luck with your patients , always .
Dr . Brian Sosnin is a primary care physician practicing at Baptist Health LaGrange Family Medicine .
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