Janice Milliman, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:

One of the main barriers to successfully quitting tobacco is stress. Several times a day I hear from our participants how stress impacts their ability to successfully quit. Some common statements are, "I can't quit now with all this stress," or "I can stay quit only if nothing stressful happens."

Sometimes participants even feel like they're in a no-win situation: either continue smoking or live with unmanageable stress. Our job as tobacco cessation counselors is to turn what feels like a lose-lose situation into a win-win. What does that mean? Helping participants find ways of managing stress and quitting tobacco, all at the same time. For many this can be a foreign concept, because the only coping skill for feelings of stress or depression has been smoking.

Taking a puff of a cigarette gives nearly instant satisfaction. Nicotine reaches the pleasure center of the brain in 7-10 seconds, which provides momentary pleasure or calm. No wonder people find smoking helps "relieve" their stress. Unfortunately it doesn't actually relieve stress, it just tricks the brain for a short time.

To help smokers realize that quitting and managing stress aren't mutually exclusive, we offer support around stress management. Like quitting smoking, managing stress is a learned skill that takes practice. And, being able to manage stress is essential life-long skill for everyone, smokers and non-smokers alike.