The ins and outs of smoking.

Teenage smoking is increasing.

If you are tempted to light up, don't. If you are a smoker already, we may be able to help you quit...

Smoking is fun, cool, glamorous--if you listen to your peers who smoke or believe the hype on billboards and in magazine ads. So, why do studies indicate that between six and nine out of every ten smokers want to cut down. on or quit cigarettes?

Lots of reasons! While most people (especially when they are young) tend to ignore the long-term health problems associated with smoking, like lung cancer, it is hard to avoid the bad taste in your mouth or feeling run-down. The fact is that smoking messes up your immune system, making it easier to get colds. Smokers also have twice as many nightmares and are nine times more likely to snore--so you may get less sleep. The last major inconvenience, particularly for dancers, is that cigarettes can cause you to be short of breath. If you keep smoking, you are also at risk for premature menopause, calcium loss in your bones, and wrinkles. That's why more young people are saying "no" to cigarettes, right? Wrong!

THE TEMPTATIONS OF LIGHTING UP

Teenage smoking is on the rise, especially in adolescent girls. According to our recent mail survey on dancers, one out of every seven eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds currently in training or on the stage smokes. While this number is lower than the average (14 percent rather than 25 percent), it is obvious that the dance community is not immune to lighting up. Why? Part of the media image pushed on teens is that people who smoke are thin. Consequently, girls often believe that cigarettes will help them with weight loss, even though this is doubtful at best. By the time they realize that tobacco will not make them thinner or more attractive, they may be hooked. Nicotine is a powerful drug that functions both as a stimulant (when nicotine levels are lowest in the morning) and as a relaxant (as blood levels reach their zenith at the end of the day). It also works quickly: one puff, and ten seconds later you get a jolt of nicotine to the brain. The sooner you are rewarded, the more addictive the drug.

The end result is that getting into smoking is a lot easier than getting out. Even if you switch to a light or ultratrim brand, your addiction will still find a way to exert control. Studies show that smokers compensate for lower levels of tar and nicotine by inhaling longer, deeper, and more often. You should also not be misled into thinking that those cigarettes are healthier. In truth, they actually have more additives to enhance their taste.

So what do you do if you want to quit? First, make sure that you are up to taking the plunge. Many smokers know that tobacco is bad for them, but this does not mean that they will stop smoking within the next thirty days. To get to this point, think about your reasons for quitting, and review strategies to help you remain cigarette-free. Breaking the smoking habit depends on being ready to take action.

DEVELOP A PLAN

Once you are mentally prepared to live smoke-free, the next step is to develop a plan. Withdrawal from nicotine peaks after three or four days, so choose a time to quit when you can handle symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, hunger, and decreased concentration. Females should try to quit smoking at the end of their period, since nicotine withdrawal can mimic or add to premenstrual symptoms. It also helps to be aware of the connection between caffeine and cigarettes. Because smokers have to drink twice as much caffeine to get the same effect as nonsmokers, they can experience a number of unpleasant symptoms when they quit smoking. You can avoid overdosing on caffeine by cutting your intake of coffee, tea, and soft drinks by half. Finally, speak to your physician about the pros and cons of nicotine replacement therapy (the patch or gum), which has been FDA approved for smokers to combat physical withdrawal symptoms.

Your plan should also include mental strategies to keep you on track. For example, be prepared to counter self-defeating thoughts that lead to relapse, such as minimizing smoking's health consequences ("Everything is bad these days, so why not light up?") or adopting a fatalistic view ("I'm going to die anyway. It might as well be from cigarettes"). In addition, if you do "slip," try not to interpret this as failure. No one is perfect, and one slip does not have to become a complete relapse--unless you let it. Last, but not least for dancers, fear of weight gain does not have to keep you from achieving your goal. Just make reasonable lifestyle changes by increasing the amount of aerobic exercise and reducing your intake of fat, sugar, and calories. However, never go below 1,400 calories a day or you will slow down your metabolic rate. Nicotine gum (not the patch) has also been shown to help prevent weight problems.

RELAPSE PREVENTION

After you quit, the desire to smoke will continue to pop up for a long time. The good news is that the urge generally passes after one and a half minutes, if you can resist temptation. Meanwhile, it helps to 1) avoid high-risk situations (if coffee goes with cigarettes, switch to tea for a while); 2) begin a new habit (some exsmokers have taken up needlepoint to keep their hands busy); 3) create a vivid image (positive or negative) to get you through the tough times. Most smokers quit an average of four times before they achieve success! If you do relapse, try to learn from the experience and start again.

There is olso a lot to be learned from the life experiences of other dancers who have been ensnared. A confirmed smoker for thirty years, Peter Martins, ballet master in chief of New York City Ballet, recalls that his nicotine habit seemed harmless enough as an eighteen-year-old dancer. Several years later, he says, "I became a principal dancer and began to have more responsibilities." That was when "I realized that smoking hindered me. I would get out of breath fast." He also believes that cigarettes caused him to lose physical sensation in his feet Finally living cigarette-free (his second attempt), he has advice for young dancers that is based on his own struggle to quit. "If you haven't started smoking, don't think of it. If you have started, stop. It is truly the devil. But it is never too late to quit."

Persistence pays off in life as well as in dance. For more information on quitting, call Smokenders at [phone].

RELATED ARTICLE: SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF QUITTING SMOKING

Within 2 Weeks to 3 Months:

Circulation is better Lung function improves (as much as 30 percent)

Within 1 to 9 Months:

Shortness of breath diminishes Physical energy improves

Within 5 Years:

Death rate from lung cancer is cut almost in half Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; American Cancer Society