Groundbreaking campus program helps smokers butt out

On the spectrum of tobacco addiction, Sharon Haponiuk had one of the worst cases. Smoking two packs a day from the age of 12, she would get up four or five times every night to quell her craving. At 54, Haponiuk was convinced she'd never quit, and part of her didn't want to, afraid of the potential weight gain.

It was only when she looked into dental implants, and the dentist told her it would be a waste of time given the damage smoking had done to her mouth and gums - the implants probably wouldn't take - that Haponiuk took action. Call it the last straw, but that's when she decided to steel herself and attempt the impossible.

"I really, really tried hard and struggled with it," said Haponiuk. She went through the usual round of nicotine replacement therapy, hypnosis and acupuncture. But she credits Dr. Stephen Patterson, co-director of the U of A Faculty Medicine & of Dentistry's Tobacco Cessation Program, for making the biggest difference.

"I needed that motivation," she said. "I kept a diary and wrote everything down in that book."

Haponiuk kept track of her anger, her fears, those times when the cravings gnawed at her without mercy, and shared it with Patterson and his counsellors.

Two years ago Haponiuk took what she hopes will be the last drag of her life: "I truly believe if I can quit smoking, anybody can."

"It is an amazing experience to watch people battle through nicotine addiction and finally leave tobacco behind," said Patterson. "I give ex-tobacco users great credit - it is a major step towards health that they have taken in their lives."

This January marks the first anniversary of the Tobacco Cessation Program's formal operation. Since launching, its success rate has been in line with most programs of its kind, at around 15 to 30 per cent, said Barb Gitzel, co-director and clinical professor of dental hygiene. That success rate tends to directly reflect the rate of participation.

Studies show that "even a few minutes from a caring health professional to talk about smoking" has a marked effect on getting people to quit, said Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Dean Dr. Tom Marrie.

While open to anyone, the program targets mainly students, because young adults between 15 and 24 are still the biggest users of tobacco.

"We recognize that young adults have the highest smoking rates of any age group in the province, and there's a reason for that," said Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, alluding to the aggressive marketing campaigns of big tobacco companies. "We have to work hard to address that issue. I'm pleased to know this program is offered to the entire population free of charge, even though the goal is to increase student participation."

A good portion of the program's clientele, however, has come from the general community, said Gitzel. Groundbreaking for the Edmonton area, the clinic offers free one-on-one counselling, behaviour modification, nicotine replacement therapies, support and follow-up for anyone interested in quitting the chewing or smoking habit. It also provides health-science students with a better understanding of nicotine addiction and introduces them to tobacco cessation techniques.

"Dentistry and dental hygiene are in a unique position in the health-care system, because we see patients on a regular basis," said Gitzel. "Dental hygienists especially spend a fair bit of time with patients, up to an hour at a time, and they have the time to actually discuss tobacco issues and concerns."

Gitzel pointed out that dentists and dental hygienists are often the first to see damage from tobacco. "The portal of entry is the mouth. We see a lot of lesions, tissue changes that we can show to the client, and it can be motivational for them. When they see the pictures of a lesion in their mouth getting fibrous or red, that brings the habit to consciousness."

About 3,400 people die each year because of tobacco-related disease. One-third of all cancers and three-quarters of oral cancers are caused by tobacco use.

The U of A's Tobacco Cessation Program is sponsored by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), the Alberta Tobacco Reduction Strategy and the U of A Department of Dentistry.