Smoking and the Nursing Student

[RainbowDash]

Hello!

As part of my "be healthy before you can tell other people to be healthy" venture, I want to give up smoking once and for all. I have quit FOUR times (one for each pregnancy), only to go back after baby is born due to stress and all surrounding family being smokers. I am well aware that it is a disgusting and potentially lethal habit - I want to make it go away, once and for all.

My question for you: do you smoke? Are you an ex smoker? How did you quit? What helped, and what was worthless? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

-RD

[CallieNM, ASN, RN]

My mother and my step father both used chantix to quit. My mom had no issues at all but my step dad had severe depression and suicidal thoughts because of it. Just a warning. They both are still non smokers and it's been about 5 or 6 years.

I just quit to quit. Cold turkey. When you live in Michigan and cigarettes are almost $8/pack you realize it is too expensive of a habit. Hahaha! Been smoke free since 2008!

[englishgeek]

I know that some of the PPs already mentioned this, but many hospitals simply do not hire smokers any more. They require you to attest to the fact that you are a non-smoker as part of the employment application. They also do random checks for nicotine, just like any other 'forbidden' substances. If they discover that you are just trying to pass as a non-smoker, you'll be terminated.

Hmm...wonder when they will stop hiring obese nurses...and where will that stop?

[nik415]

I don't want to sound callous but talk is cheap. Everyone's saying I'll quit after school, but then that becomes I'll quit after I pass NCLEX, I'll quit once I find a job, I'll quit once I get handle on being a new nurse. I've begged my mom for years to quit smoking but she hasn't and she won't. She watched her mother die of lung cancer, and my grandfather is slowly wasting away from emphysema and COPD.

I have resigned myself to the fact that my mother will most likely die far too young. Perhaps, before I have children. It breaks my heart knowing that she might not get to see my children or that my children won't get to know her. My grandmother died when I was 12, and wish all the time that she could have been here to see me grow up and that I could have gotten to know her as a person. I don't have nearly enough memories of her.

I wish everyone all the best in quitting and hope you actually do.

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

I used will power and pumpkin seeds. Sounds silly but it will keep your hands busy and mouth so it kinda satisfies your oral fixation. Also my husband just quit and he's been smoke free for 60 something days and he used the patch and it really worked for him. He was a super heavy smoker so I was and am amazed by him.

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

You are absolutely right. Smokers never seem to think you can smell it on them.

Thats because your sense of smell is different when you smoke. I never smoked inside or in my car and brushed my teeth relentlessly and thought no one can tell but once I quit I could smell a smoker anytime.

[Kikikins]

I am a lifetime non-smoker and I can tell when a patient smokes. It is excreted out of your pores, you exhale traces out for days after you've had a smoke -- it really is pervasive. My DF was a two pack a day smoker and he 'quit' by switching to electronic cigarettes. He still gets the nicotine but most everything else is gone. It has been 7 months now and he has been slowly stepping down since. Good luck on making such a positive lifestyle change!

[bigsick_littlesick]

I quit pretty much because I physically couldn't. I used to get really, reallybad bronchitis infections and one year, I just couldn't smoke while I was sick. It hurt SO much to just to take in a drag, like I was inhaling little shards of glass. bAs we all know, bronchitis takes some time to clear up and I just took that golden opportunity to finally quit smoking. Kind of a weird way to quit but I'm really glad I did. I don't doubt that the smoking probably caused me to get frequent bronchitis infections in the first place! I will say one other thing, watch your diet after quitting! Cigarettes were a definitely appetite suppressant for me and I didn't immediately realize I was putting on extra weight until after a while, I put two and two together.

Good luck to you and congrats on choosing a healthier life!

[traumanurse2b?]

I am a lifetime non-smoker and I can tell when a patient smokes. It is excreted out of your pores, you exhale traces out for days after you've had a smoke -- it really is pervasive. My DF was a two pack a day smoker and he 'quit' by switching to electronic cigarettes. He still gets the nicotine but most everything else is gone. It has been 7 months now and he has been slowly stepping down since. Good luck on making such a positive lifestyle change!

My mom has been using the e-cigs for almost a year, she's been able to reduce the amount of "smokes" she has in a day and doesn't crave real cigarettes. She really likes them.