quitting smoking

[Guest guest]

I Folks! Our " Proud to Quit Smoking " (www.proudtoquit.ca) campaign

presented at a Health Canada Showcase on tobacco reduction recently. I

met a woman, who presented on mental health consumers and smoking

cessation. She said that nicotine competes for some of the same

receptor sites in the brain as do some psychiatric medications.

Therefore, smokers, who quit smoking can overdose on their " meds " , and

have to be aware, as do their prescribing physicians. Although she

works within a system that (obviously) advocates medications, her point

may have some application to the experience of the individual, who

suffered severe depression at the time of quitting smoking

(validation). Rona Wilkman works " one on one " with patients, trains

(mental health consumer) peers in smoking cessation groups. There may

be some worthwhile information at her Breathe Easy website: www.cmha-

sf.bc.ca She can be reached at breatheeasy Perhaps there

are natural therapies that can be helpful, and I expect we'll read a

post that explains that, too. Steve