Nov. 19 was the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout, a day when tobacco users vow to stop using tobacco or develop a serious plan to quit. But for some Soldiers and Marines, being bombarded with life-altering statistics and a national day of awareness isn't enough to do either.
At Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, clinical pharmacists recognize the impact of tobacco use as a habit and an addiction.
"Most of my individuals who are uniformed - their number one reason for using tobacco is stress and anxiety," said Dr. Sharwanda George, a clinical pharmacist at Andrew Rader U.S. Army Health Clinic.
The success rate for tobacco cessation offered at Rader Clinic is "a little over 40 percent," according to George. Meaning 60 percent still fall short; some a little, others a lot.
"It takes about five times before you can really quit," George said. "There are a lot of components that go into successfully quitting tobacco. You've got to be mentally ready to quit."
These facts and statistics coincide with a 'tobacco culture' in the military that still exists, she said. This is true particularly during deployments and stateside in certain military career fields, according to Rader Clinic action officer Staff Sgt. George Rush.
Rush's day-to-day duties include "going through regulations" and "coming up with data," and he estimates 60-percent of his colleagues, for example, smoke.
"It's kind of like a culture that grew up smoking," Rush said.
Not the kind of figures analysts want to see with a 2020 Department of Defense goal to create tobacco-free installations approaching.
George wants to remind both regular and social tobacco users that tobacco cessation counseling is available at Rader Clinic and appointments are taken daily for both individuals looking to quit and for groups of 'four or five' who want to quit together.
George said tobacco cessation at Rader Clinic offers 'flexibility'; providing quit aids to include nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to include patches, gum, and prescriptions during the earlier start of tobacco cessation counseling, if need be. And counseling sessions last 20-30 minutes over 12 weeks, she said. But George calls a 100-percent success rate a challenge, even with the associated risks.
"Tobacco use is one of the most preventable causes of death," George said. "Tobacco can make you susceptible to having a stroke, increasing your blood pressure, cardiovascular events, elevating cholesterol, diabetes-there are so many diseases that can be managed if you quit using tobacco."
Tobacco users who seek tobacco cessation counseling individually or as a group can call Rader Clinic's appointment line at 1-855-227-6331 or George directly at 703-696-7924, and appointments are taken daily.
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