Costco Connection - January 2009

for your health

Health
Extinguishing the roundup
smoking habit

By Karen Wolfe

CONGRATULATIONS, you’ve decided to quit smoking! You’re not alone: Every year about 1. 3 million smokers in the United States successfully quit.

If you’ve tried to quit smoking before, you know it’s not an easy habit to break. Knowing about the effects of nicotine and what to expect during the withdrawal phase can help you design a plan to be successful.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical that produces a physical dependence in humans.

It works on the reward pathways of the brain and stimulates the production of dopamine, which is the feel-good neuro-transmitter in the body. When nicotine levels drop, so do the levels of dopamine, which causes cravings and reinforces the use of tobacco.

When delivered via smoking, nicotine reaches the brain within seven to 10 seconds, even faster than heroin. This quick reward and subsequent production of dopamine is the reason for nicotine’s high addiction potential.

When you quit smoking, you may experience symptoms

of withdrawal. These may include:

• Irritability, frustration, anger or anxiety

• Difficulty concentrating

• Restlessness

• Coughing

• Slight sore throat

• Increased appetite

• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

• Slight depression, or feeling down

Not all smokers go through withdrawal, and not all withdrawal symptoms are the same in terms of severity. After the first three to four days withdrawal symptoms begin to diminish, and they disappear within seven to 10 days.

While the physical addiction is very powerful, the psychological dependence compounds the issue. When performed over and over, habits create neural pathways in the brain that, once established, are surprisingly fixed—so much so that the behavior occurs subconsciously. It requires a conscious effort to change the settings, circumstances and situations to break the smoking habit.

Many tools are available to assist in dealing with withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Nicotine replacement

CHRIS A RUSNAK

therapy, available over the counter as gum, lozenges, nasal spray, inhalers and dermal patches, is designed to deliver nicotine— without the harmful chemicals associated with smoking. The idea is to gradually reduce physical dependence on nicotine, giving a person time to learn behaviors to combat the psychological dependence.

Your doctor or pharmacist can be a good resource for further information about quit-ting smoking. C

Karen Wolfe is a Costco Pharmacy professional services manager.

The Costco Connection

l

JAMES COINER

Pink Promise creator, Jim Coiner stands in a field of his roses.

A ROSE IS A ROSE is a rose, right?

Except when it’s a brand-new, award-winning rose that promises help to those suffering from breast cancer.

Pink Promise is a hybrid tea rose
that was created, or hybridized by Costco
member Jim Coiner in 2002. Named by All-

S YL A

America Rose Selections (AARS; www.rose.org) as its 2009 Hybrid Tea winner, the flower has large, brilliant pink blossoms that contrast with its lush, dark green foliage. But it’s not just the beauty of the rose or its deliciously fruity scent that makes Pink Promise such an attractive flower. The rose is an official sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Foundation,

and a portion of all its sales is contributed to the foundation.

“When we found out that we had received the award, my son, James, said, ‘Dad, this is the perfect rose for them [the founda-tion],” says Coiner, who explains that the hybridizing process, from seedling to trials to acceptance, can take up to five years. “This is the first time in its [AARS]

Sweet
scent of
promise

70-year history that one has been named as a ‘cause’ rose.”

“Pink Promise symbolizes the beauty and hope that we at the National Breast Cancer Foundation [NBCF] wish for all women,” says Janielle Hall, founder and CEO of the NBCF. “Nothing expresses that hope and beauty more than a rose, and I am very touched that the foundation has been chosen for such an honor.”

“The NBCF’s mantra is ‘Help for Today ... Hope for Tomorrow,’ and Pink Promise intends to spread that message with every bloom for years to come,” says Coiner, who owns Coiner Nursery in La Verne, California. “I want this rose to be a symbol of hope and promise in gardens across America.”