Smoking Cessation

The medical consequences of nicotine dependence are encountered often as this is the most commonly abused drug in society at present. These consequences include cardiovascular disease; emphysema; and lung, oral, head and neck, and gastrointestinal cancers.

According to the National Cancer Institute, about 70 - 80 percent of smokers want to quit, but less than five percent of those who try to quit remain smoke-free at 12 months.

Treatments can double or triple quit rates, but too few smokers try them, and too few physicians offer them. The development of drug dependence is complex, and theories about etiology abound with a minimum of evidence. It has been shown that substance abuse disorders are common in some families, which suggests a generic influence may be operant in some individuals. Opponents of this theory argue that no gene has been identified as causing addiction. These opponents point out that the familial predisposition could be a result of learned behaviors in the family dynamics.

It is possible that both genetics and learned behavior affect the development of substance dependence. The concept of access certainly influences at least the type of drug used. In neighborhoods where heroin and crack cocaine are readily available, the rates are high for dependence on these drugs. Medical professionals often become dependent on prescription opiates and sedatives with anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists generally selecting fentanyl as their drug of choice. Peer pressure is frequently cited as the reason many people experiment with drugs and alcohol. In some social sets peer pressure may result in continued abusive use but may not explain the development of dependence.