Vienna: A lot of heavily nicotine-dependent smokers want to quit but are
reluctant to try, because they are afraid that their cravings will be
unbearable afterwards. "Most of them cannot imagine that they will feel
better after quitting, even though smoking is making them really ill,"
says Rudolf Schoberberger of the Institute of Social Medicine at MedUni
Vienna on the occasion of World No Smoking Day this coming Sunday (31
May). A current study conducted with participants of the three-week
inpatient smoking cessation therapy, which is being scientifically
supported by MedUni Vienna, shows that this fear of quitting is totally
unfounded.
According to recent studies, nearly a quarter of
all smokers in Austria want to cut down on their tobacco consumption and
one third want to quit altogether. 37% have already tried to quit. A
big stumbling block is the fear that the withdrawal symptoms will be
unbearable. "The greater their nicotine dependence, the greater the
fear," says the MedUni Vienna expert. This fear is unfounded, according
to a study that has now been published in the magazine "Public Health".
Success rate: 42 %
Some
Austrian health insurers pay for their policy-holders to take part in
an inpatient smoking cessation therapy. Every year, up to 100 heavily
nicotine-dependent Austrians avail themselves of this opportunity.
During the three weeks, which are organized like a stay at a health
resort, participants receive individual and group care, are given
nutritional advice and also an 80-page manual addressing many questions
about smoking and quitting. Schoberberger: "It is also important that
the smokers are taken out of the normal daily routines for three weeks.
That makes quitting much easier."
The social medicine experts at
MedUni Vienna have now increased the success rate of inpatient smoking
cessation therapy. The principal outcome: "The long-term health of those
who have successfully quit smoking is much improved. Out of 270
participants questioned, more than 42% said that one year after the
inpatient smoking cessation therapy they were healthier and felt better
in general and that they were still not smoking." 30% started to smoke
again after the therapy and the rest did not turn up for their follow-up
appointments. "Our survey showed a significant increase in satisfaction
with sleep quality, and also with breathing and mobility," says
Schoberberger to sum up. Medication use had also fallen significantly in
this group.
The results can be backed up by figures: before the
therapy, 23.2% of the current non-smokers said that they frequently had
cardiovascular problems but after only six months this percentage fell
to 5.8%. At the start of the therapy, 31.4% described their general
well-being as frequently impaired, whereas afterwards this figure was
only 7.5%. There is also a significant improvement in terms of sleep
quality: before the therapy, every second person amongst the current
non-smokers was dissatisfied with their sleep quality and feared that it
would have a negative impact upon their health; now this figure is only
22.4%.
Schoberberger: "Doing without tobacco results in a
significant improvement in health and greater lifestyle appreciation. At
the same time, for most of those who have been weaned off smoking,
cravings cease to be an issue after only six months. The fear of
quitting is totally unfounded."