Quitting smoking

First, check your health

Quitting helps at any age, and the benefits start soon. Dr. Pan also checks your lungs, heart and blood pressure.

If you are 50 to 80, have smoked 20 pack-years or more (for example, a pack a day for 20 years), and still smoke or quit in the last 15 years, a yearly low-dose CT scan of the chest is recommended to find lung cancer early. Ask Dr. Pan.

How it is treated

• Nicotine replacement: a patch, plus gum or lozenges for cravings. Using both works better than one alone.
• Proven quit-smoking medicines, chosen to fit your health and the other medicines you take.
• Counseling and support. The free quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), gives free coaching by phone.
• Setting a quit date, and planning for the times you usually smoke.
• Acupuncture: very thin needles. It eases cravings and the restlessness of quitting. It works well together with the steps above.
• Chinese herbs, prescribed for your pattern, to calm restlessness and ease the cough as your lungs clear. They are checked against the medicines you already take.

How many visits

Usually once a week at first, around your quit date. Six to eight visits make a course; then you and Dr. Pan look at how much better you are: fewer cigarettes, fewer cravings, more days without smoking.

Common questions

Can acupuncture help me quit?

Yes. Acupuncture eases cravings and restlessness, and works best together with quit-smoking medicines, nicotine replacement and support.

Are quit-smoking medicines safe?

Yes, for most people. Your health and other medicines are checked first.

I slipped and smoked. Have I failed?

A slip is not a failure. Look at what led to it, and keep going: every try brings you closer.