One of the best blogs extant is Dr. Crippen’s NHS Doctor blog (and it’s a must-read for all the single-payor socialized medicine types out there).
I have a couple of family members who smoke, and I don’t understand. Really, I don’t get it, at all. I know that means I’m a lifelong non-smoker but it continuously baffles me why anyone would want to smoke. In the ED I do no smoking cessation, other than telling smokers “time to quit”. No lectures, no guilt trips, but an acknowledgement that we both know it’s not good for you.
Dr. Crippen has been, apparently, a smoker, and he’s got A Plan:
It is no good the doctor, and sadly some still do, just writing out a prescription for patches and having the patient out of the door in ten seconds. It needs a little more than that. In our practice we have discussed with smokers and ex-smokers the best approach to stopping smoking and have devised a plan.
We do not claim a monopoly of wisdom, nor do we say that our way is the only way, but nonetheless it is a plan with which we have had considerable success. So here goes.
The Crippen Stop Smoking in 28 days Plan.
I’ve read this, and think there’s something there. It seems both simple and reasonable, and there’s an explanation of the social cues that set off smoking in the first place.
Recommended reading, and recommending.
I quit smoking 15 years ago;it was the hardest thing i ever did.If anyone is puzzled why people continue to smoke,it’s actually very easy to understand;Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man.
I passed this link on to a co-worker who keeps telling me she’s going to stop smoking “someday” with a note to read it now and use it when she’s ready.
I quit, for the second time, 6 months ago. I like to tell people who never smoked that smoking is kinda like the motorcycle riding: “If you have never done it, you’ll never understand.”