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"Weed killer"

Winnipeg Free Press
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Page: D1
Section: Life

By Shamona Harnett

HAVING trouble butting out? Don't blame cigarettes for your smoking habit.

The notion may sound off-kilter, but according to smoking cessation experts, the nausea, cold sweats, headaches and irritability associated with nicotine withdrawal aren't the real reason you're hooked on your old friend in a cardboard pack.

For most people, smoking is a coping mechanism, a way to mask other problems, says Dr. Ivan Bilash, a clinical psychologist who runs the Stress and Anxiety Management Clinic at the Health Sciences Centre.

Yes, nicotine is physically addictive, he says, but withdrawal symptoms only last for a few days.

The root of cigarette addiction is more cerebral: "People who smoke have unpleasant feelings of some sort and they use smoking to douse those feelings," says Bilash.

In other words, quitting smoking requires not only better stress management, but also willpower.

There's no better time to muster up some of that willpower than now -- at the start of the new year and in the throes of a government push to curb smoking.

Want to quit? Here's a rundown of some popular non-chemical smoking cessation options:

HYPNOTISM

Norman Beaudry knows exactly when he kicked his 35-year, pack-and-a-half-a-day smoking habit. "It was March 6, 1996. I have it marked down," says the East Kildonan resident.

That was the day he went to see popular stage hypnotist Romane perform a quit-smoking seminar at the then-Walker Theatre.

Beaudry remembers having a cigarette or two in the car on the way to the performance -- and one during the intermission. By the time Romane had finished his 90-minute session, Beaudry had no desire to smoke again.

He doesn't remember exactly what Romane said during the seminar. But he definitely wasn't "put under."

"I thought I would be put in a trance. But I was conscious," says the retired steel mill manager.

Beaudry is convinced that his group hypnotism session played a major role in ending his cigarette addiction.

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But he also knows that his strong concern for his own health -- and that of his family -- had a lot to do with his success.

"I went there with an attitude that I want to quit," he says.

Hypnotism can only work if the subject truly wants to quit for the right reasons, says Bilash, who uses the method in his psychology practice to help people kick smoking and other bad habits.

In the 20 years since he's hypnotized patients, Bilash has come across several misconceptions about hypnotism.

The truth? The subject, he says, isn't "unconscious" or "zonked out." Nor can the subject be forced to cluck like a chicken or do anything else against his or her will.

Simply stated, hypnosis is "a deep state of absorption," says Bilash.

During a quit-smoking session with the psychologist, he first finds out a patient's main sources of stress. Next, he explains what role he thinks smoking plays in the patient's life. The third step is the actual hypnosis, in which he gives "suggestions" of victory. Sometimes he talks about the negative effects of smoking. His tactics vary depending on the patient.

During this part, the patient just takes his suggestions in.

"You don't need to work hard at it," says Bilash. "It's like listening to music. You just lie back and let the sounds flow in."

His success rate after six months is 69 per cent, according to a survey of his patients 20 years ago. Today, he admits the numbers may be lower, considering many of his patients see him because a family member encouraged the visit.

The key to having a successful hypnosis session is being ready to quit. That means wanting to quit to save your health -- not because you want to prove to someone else that you can quit, he stresses.

"When you're here, you should have the attitude, 'Today is quitting time.'"

ACUPUNCTURE

Sticking a bunch of needles into all areas of your anatomy may sound like punishment for your smoking habit.

But needles -- specifically, acupuncture -- can actually help you quell your lust for cigarettes.

That's because acupuncture may help release endorphins -- natural painkillers that ease your stress and the discomfort of physical nicotine withdrawal.

But being determined to quit is important if you want acupuncture to work for you, says Winnipeg acupuncturist Haiguang Yan, a doctor of Chinese medicine and owner of Yan Acupuncture and Chinese Medical Clinic.

"You must have the motivation. You must realize smoking is bad," says Yan, recalling a current patient who has reduced his smoking from two packs a day to one after a few acupuncture sessions.

Three decades ago, most Western doctors shrugged off acupuncture as hocus-pocus. They argued that using needles to redirect the flow of an invisible healing force -- classical Chinese acupuncture philosophy -- was unscientific fluff.

Today, a growing number of Western health practitioners acknowledge that acupuncture may have some benefits.

Yan says that many of his patients have quit smoking after five to 10 sessions, each 30 minutes long. Needles are inserted around the "lung meridians" which, he says, are located in the hands and ears.

The procedure, says Yan, is usually only mildly uncomfortable.

WILLPOWER

Carol Lamirande knew quitting smoking would be the ultimate gift she could give to her two children. But she also knew ending her three-packs-a-week smoking habit would be hard.

It was remarriage -- the start of a new chapter in her life -- that prompted the Transcona resident to make good on her intentions.

Lamirande has been smoke-free since 2001. She managed to kick her habit the no-frills way: Through sheer willpower.

"I just didn't want my kids to grow up around it. I was ready to quit," says Lamirande, manager at a veterinary supplies company.

The moodiness she felt during nicotine withdrawal was fleeting, she says, noting that within a few months she lost her taste for cigarettes.

Jill Binder, a Toronto-based quit-smoking coach, says people like Lamirande are usually successful quitters.

"The very first step is to make that decision," says Binder, who coaches clients in person and over the Internet. "They can't quit if they don't want to."

Binder's 90-day program involves addressing areas of stress.

"Smoking is not the problem," says Binder. "It's other things in your life."

Jill Binder's website is www.stopsmokingcoach.ca