Genes to blame for difficulty in quitting

A new study shows some smokers have a genetic factor which makes it more difficult to quit smoking.  Smokers who have an abundance of "mu opioid receptors" (MOR) in their brain, are more likely to relapse because their brains find nicotine more rewarding. PET scans were used to show that smokers with excess MOR's had different genetic factors than smokers with less MOR's.
When nicotine fits into

It's time for the City of La Quinta to have Smoke-free parks

Feeling like a slug after surgery, I wasn't able to take my dog Joey, for his daily 45 minute walk. Instead we went to the local dog park. Within a few minutes someone else walked in, sat next to me and lit up a cigarette. I could have asked her to put it out but since it's not against the law in La Quinta, she didn't have to, and after having major surgery, I wasn't up to a confrontation with a

Environmental Hazards of tobacco

There are many personal reasons to become smokefree such as better health, and saving money, but quitting is also good for the environment.
Trash
Cigarette butts are the number one trash item collected on our beaches with over one million butts collected in the United States alone. Worldwide over 4 trillion butts are smoked each year. Each butt is made of about 12,000 plastic fibers which take 12

Shame and guilt keep smokers smoking

Often what keeps smokers smoking is either shame or guilt or both. As a coach, I never want to add to either emotion with my clients. Shame is "there is something wrong with me (that's why I can't quit)". Guilt is "I'm doing something wrong (but I don't know how to stop)". I remember feeling both after my first cancer diagnosis---even smokers would bug me to quit--"VJ, why are you smoking, you've

What is addiction?

Have you ever thought of the perfect response to a comment later? That happened to me a few days ago when I was talking to a group of physicians. One said, "Nicotine is not an addiction. Addiction is when you hold up your mother for money to buy your drugs." I mumbled some answer and only later thought about what I wish I had said:

When I talk about nicotine being addictive, I'm talking about

Nicotine hijacks the survival instinct of the brain

Have you ever gone without smoking and developed an overwhelming craving that felt like, "I'M GOING TO DIE OR GO CRAZY IF I DONT' HAVE A CIGARETTE!"?
If so, nicotine has hijacked the survival part of your brain. From the very first puff of a cigarette, nicotine produced a powerful effect on the primate part of our brain that controls our survival instincts. Often people will say that smoking is

Smoking causes surgical complications

The doctor was running late for my pre-operative appointment and I had time to talk with Jeanni, the patient coordinator at UCLA. In September I had a bilateral mastectomy (mandatory) with immediate (elective) DIEP-flap (tummy tuck) reconstruction. In two weeks I will have the second stage of the reconstruction. This surgery is on the cutting edge of breast reconstruction and offers the best