I "2: COfttlAT riftTH ThtOU&M 10G(ST)C$ Shootout Outlaws VS. ColonelsChiefs Hilltop Times Ikkk ft by Frances Kosakowsky Hilltop Times staff writer tried to quit smoking approximately 5,000 times in the last 20 I have years. Sometimes, I have gone a whole week without taking a puff. One time when I quit, my nonsmoking neighbor brought over a carton of cigarettes and suggested everyone's life would be easier if I started again. This week, I was again dreading becoming a nonsmoker in honor of the Great American Smokeout, but decided that I was tired of suffering the scorn of my peers and feeling defensive at the same time. Also, the health hazards of smoking are bothering me more than in past years, and I've decided to no longer put my health second to my social adjustment. Another thing I'm convinced of is that most smokers feel the same way I do. In preparation for breaking the habit again, I began by making an intensely personal, but totally unscientific survey of smokers on base. My question: "Why do we persist smoking in spite of everything?" The answers covered the spectrum: "I don't want anybody telling me what to do." "I have a death wish." "I'm too nervous to quit." "I'm addicted." "I use smoking for stress relief." "I enjoy smoking." All the folks I talked with are intelligent people who are certainly smart What type off Nov. 15, 1991 17 hi (pi lb) 0 Q -- enough to reason their way through the pitfalls of smoking it's exorbitantly expensive; it's unhealthy; it pollutes the air; it makes your breath and clothes smelly; people don't want to kiss you; and it has been declared legally obnoxious. But, still we continue the habit. Obviously, there is more to quitting than most nonsmokers think, and I decided I needed to take another approach. I headed to the smoking cessation people, and they handed me something, from the American Cancer Society called the FreshStart quit smoking program. The first step in quitting is understanding why and how smoking affects us. There is a short test (see box) that identifies the ways in which we are "hooked" on cigarettes. If you answer "yes" to two out of the first three questions, you are con- sidered chemically addicted to cigarettes. If you answer "yes" to two out of the next three questions, you are habituated to smoking. If you answer "yes" to two out of the last three questions, you are psychologically dependent on cigarettes. Many smokers find that they answer "yes" to most of the questions that they are addicted, habituated and dependent on cigarettes! If this is the case for you, do not smoker are you? YES NO Is it extremely difficult for you to go a half-dawithout smoking? 2. Do you have an intense recurring hunger for cigarettes? 3. Do you feel a. need to smoke a certain minimal number of cigarettes each day? 1. American Smokout Nov. 21 despair; you are hardly alone. But it can be helpful for you to determine which of these three aspects of smoking is your most difficult obstacle to quitting. Scoring the test psychologically Great y 4. Do you often find yourself smoking a cigarette when you weren't aware of lighting one up? your smoking with other behaviors, like drinking coffee and smoking, or talking on the phone and smoking? 6. Do you sometimes unintentionally go a whole day without smoking? 7. Do you smoke more after having an argument with someone? 8. Is smoking one of your most important pleasures in your life? 9. Does the thought of never again smoking make you feel unhappy? 5. Do you link Nicotine is an addictive substance. If you crave cigarettes that is, if you have an intense, recurring hunger for them and cannot stand to go a few hours without smoking, you are probably addicted to nicotine. For smokers who are primarily addicted, it is usually the first few days off cigarettes that are the most difficult; after that, however, they may find staying off to be as easy or even easier than it is for other The habit aspect of smoking involves all of the many links between you and your cigarettes. These links were formed without your awareness. For instance, many smokers have a strong habit of smoking whenever they drink coffee. Initially you probably started out just having a cigarette with your coffee because it seemed an appropriate time or because it seemed to be a common social activity. After a few repetitions, however, the association between drinking coffee and smoking became a habit, so that now, each time you take a cup of coffee, you experience a desire to smoke. For most smokers, there are many bonds like this; all of these links together make your smoking a strong habit. Other common links are those between smoking and having an alcoholic drink; smoking and talking on the telephone; smoking and writing a report; smoking and watching television; or smoking after eating. The third aspect of smoking, psychological dependency, refers to the meaning that smoking holds for you or to the function cigarettes seem to serve. The most common form of psychological dependency is using cigarettes to manage stress. Many people feel that smoking relaxes them; so they have a cigarette whenever they feel tense. If smoking helps you to feel relaxed, it is because cigarettes are familiar to you they are familiar in the way that a close friend is familiar. Because they are familiar, they are a source of comfort to you. Another psychological part of quitting smoking is that most smokers feel ambivalent about quitting. They want to quit, but they would like to go on smoking forever. The important fact for smokers to know about the ambivalence is that it is not necessary to get rid of the desire to smoke totally before you stop. What the smoker needs to focus on is that he wants to stop more than he wants to continue smoking. If you are among those smokers who want to quit more than you want to continue and if you want to make quitting your No. 1 priority, there are a couple of smoking cessation programs offered on base. Thornton Community Center The "FreshStart" program, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, consists sessions during a period. The free program is open to anyone on base. For more information, call Barbara Miller, Ext. 73661. of four one-hou- r two-wee- k U.S. Air Force Hospital, Hill Mental Health Clinic This program is and retired open to all active-dutservice members and their family members, free of charge. Cessation classes are held Mondays, a.m., at p.m., and Fridays, the Mental Health Clinic in the basement of the hospital. For more information, contact the Mental Health Clinic, Ext. 74537. OK, smokers, I've dug up all the information I could to ease us through the pain of quitting. I'm going to give it my best effort Thursday. My famiare forely, friends and warned. How about you? y 3-- 10-1- 1 4 rs 3 Gulf romance Couple meets through letters Moving up Air Force members promoted Pay increase Wage grade workers get raise