Books : Smoke-Free in 30 Days : Excerpts

FOREWORD

BY MEHMET OZ, M.D., COAUTHOR OF YOU: THE OWNER'S MANUAL

When I asked Dr. Seidman to join me on The Oprah Winfrey Show in early 2008, the topic of the hour was smoking: why people do it, and how they can stop for good. Dan was an ideal guest because, as the head of the Smoking Cessation Service at Columbia University Medical Center, he impressed me with his experience, knowledge, and wisdom. He has long been our expert doctor to whom we refer patients struggling with smoking addiction. I have seen firsthand the effects of his program—how it helps even the most hardened smokers, people who have tried and failed repeatedly to stop smoking, to kick the habit for good.

On The Oprah Winfrey Show that day, every member of the audience (more than 300 people) was a smoker! In addition, we were able to to work more closely before the show with a small group of smokers, all of whom shared their stories and their struggles with smoking addiction. One smoker in particular told a heartbreaking tale: she discussed the shame she felt about her addiction, and the guilt that paralyzed her because even the love she felt for her daughter was still not enough to get her to quit. She was horrified by a video diary she had shot, showing her smoking as she drove around town with her child beside her in the car. The most moving testimony was from her daughter, who said her mom should listen to the doctors telling her to quit and then summed it all up by saying that her mother's smoking was "ridiculous."

Since that show aired, a law was passed in the state of Maine forbidding adults to smoke in a car when kids under age 16 are present. These kinds of public health initiatives are wonderful, and they can change the social environment by sending strong messages about health and behavior. However, while such laws create a need and a demand for services to help people stop smoking, they do not automatically translate into a tobacco-free life for the individual smoker, who is often bewildered by his or her own behavior. Changing the law can spark change, but smokers often need specific guidance on how best to follow up when they are motivated to throw away their cigarettes. That's what you'll find here.

Dr. Seidman's new book guides smokers through a 30-day program, complete with a day-to-day time line, to help them through the entire process of quitting—before, during, and after. The text is full of stories and case examples from his clinic and practice that help illustrate each recommendation. The goal of this book is to make quitting smoking—a task that can be confusing, overwhelming, and at times frustrating—as easy and straightforward as possible. To do this, Dr. Seidman helps the reader understand that the physical addiction isn't the highest hurdle to overcome. The higher hurdle for many people trapped in an addiction to smoking is the loss of emotional confidence they experience. Many truly believe that they need cigarettes to get by in life. Smokers who successfully quit must learn to face life's big and little stressors without smoking. The book takes readers through a clear step-by-step program, helping them rebuild their emotional confidence so they can outsmart the addiction and leave behind the mental compulsion to smoke and the emotional dependence on smoking that the chemical addiction breeds.

There are powerful emotional obstacles that keep smokers stuck in their addiction. A person in the process of quitting will feel some discomfort, but the discomfort is OK. We are not comfortable being uncomfortable, and yet this feeling is part of changing our behavior and getting unstuck. Getting through the discomfort of quitting can help us learn to do better with other necessary discomforts in life as well. We have also learned about the powerful role of the family environment in influencing young people to take up smoking and how other smokers in the family can be powerful triggers of a relapse. This book offers a step-by-step program of guidance for smokers who are convinced that emotional and family stresses prevent them from quitting! If you are a smoker and want family members to better understand the problem you are facing, this book can help. If you are a family member or friend and want to understand how best to help a smoker, this book can help. Because this book is written by someone with deep knowledge and experience in this area, it will ring true to the smoker who is truly looking for a lifeline out of smoking.

Dr. Seidman brings a wealth of 20 years' experience to his approach to helping smokers. The wisdom learned through years of running a successful clinic is now available to you in this book, through a program which has already helped thousands achieve freedom from smoking! Perhaps you could do it alone, but why not make this as painless as possible? Why not make this task of becoming smoke-free as short as possible? Like a guide on a journey, Dr. Seidman has been along the path many times before. He can help you avoid the pitfalls and dead ends that demoralize so many smokers and lead them to go on smoking for many more years and to jeopardize their health. This in fact is the philosophy of the book: to make this journey as easy as possible for smokers and for those family members and friends who care about the smokers and wish them every success in becoming smoke-free. Read on and find a wealth of resources and information inside.