Stop-smoking tips for you and the senator

February 11, 2007|By Patrick Kampert, Tribune staff reporter

When they were serving together in the state Senate, now-retired state Sen. Denny Jacobs said, his colleague Barack Obama was not a heavy smoker.

"He'd normally sneak one from me once every three or four days and, of course, when we'd play poker occasionally," Jacobs said.

Now that Obama has publicly declared his intention to quit smoking (he says he normally smoked four or five cigarettes a day), Jacobs said he thinks the stress-filled life of a possible presidential campaign could actually help his former poker buddy quit.

"I think sometimes if you're more active, it helps."

But if Obama wants to quit--and maybe you do too--Carol Southard, a smoking-cessation specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, offers some advice:

Chantix, a new prescription drug. It's not "a magic bullet," she said, but it does seem to block the effects of nicotine from smoking.

Nicorette gum or the patch. Obama chews Nicorette. Southard is all for both aids, noting that nicotine doesn't kill you; it's the 40-plus toxins in cigarettes that cause strokes, cancer and heart disease. But Nicorette takes 20 minutes to kick in; the patch takes two hours.

Zyban (or Wellbutrin). They're the same drug. Zyban is prescribed for smoking, Wellbutrin for depression. Insurers usually don't cover Zyban.

Persistence. Most people need three to eight attempts to finally quit.

Hunger. Smokers experience a spike in blood sugar after a cigarette, so have more meals with small portions as you try to quit.

Cost. Most insurance companies don't cover smoking-cessation programs or drugs. Maybe that's something Obama can address--now--in the Senate.