21adventure

Rosemary Lamont and her York Region Community and Health Services colleagues want you to not quit quitting.
The syntax is fun, but the message is serious: Tobacco is addictive and it kills. Kicking the habit often takes many attempts.
The clinical nurse specialist, in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, is preparing for, and inviting smokers to participate in, the STOP on the road research study. STOP, an acronym for stop smoking therapy for Ontario patients, measures the effectiveness of providing nicotine replacement therapy to those who want to quit smoking. Eligible participants will be provided five weeks of nicotine replacement therapy patches at no cost.
A brief telephone screening questionnaire will determine if you qualify for the Nov. 16 sessions in Georgina and Newmarket. Each location can accommodate up to 50 people. Registering early is advised, Ms Lamont said.
If approved, you’ll be given the location. Sessions will be in Georgina, noon to 3 p.m. and Newmarket 6 to 9 p.m. Exact sites are kept under wraps to avoid unregistered drop-ins.
The confidential session is an opportunity for people ready to quit smoking and want to learn about strategies and supports to help them butt out, Ms Lamont said.
The workshop, follow-up supports and nicotine replacement therapy increases your chances of being successful. If you joined the sessions in the past and failed to quit, you’re welcome again, she said.
“We recognize it takes several attempts,” she said, adding the average is between five and seven times.
The program employs two proven strategies: Nicotine replacement therapy doubles your chances of quitting and behavioral change techniques add to the success rate, she said.
Getting the tobacco monkey off your back is no easy task, health experts agree. The addictive nature of nicotine is insidious and more habit forming than heroin.
The nicotine in inhaled tobacco smoke moves from the lungs, into the bloodstream and up to the smoker’s brain within 7 to 10 seconds, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health research scientist Dr. Laurie Zawertailo said.
Once there, nicotine triggers chemical reactions that create temporary feelings of pleasure.
“Nicotine from a cigarette versus a patch enters the brain in a way that’s very reinforcing,” she said. “It attaches to the receptors and releases dopamine and a cascade of events occur.”
Nicotine activates the same reward pathways in the brain as other drugs, such as cocaine or amphetamines, although to a lesser degree.
Research has shown nicotine increases the level of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter that is responsible for feelings of pleasure and well-being. The acute effects of nicotine wear off within minutes, so people must continue dosing themselves frequently throughout the day to maintain the pleasurable effects and to prevent withdrawal symptoms.
The upcoming sessions provides participants with patches, one of four standard nicotine replacement methods. The others are gum, lozenges and inhalers.
These products deliver nicotine without the additional “harmful poisons and chemicals” in cigarettes, Dr. Zawertailo said.