Kicking habit can be difficult for seniors; support groups help

Updated 3:00 PM December 7, 2005

Kicking habit can be difficult for seniors; support groups help

By Katie Gazella
Medical School Communications

At 70 years old, Beverly Bennett has been smoking an average of a pack a day for 54 years. She quit for about nine months in the 1990s, but started again. Now she is determined to give it another try.

"I've decided to quit because of my health. I would like to live a little bit longer," she says, "and almost any place you go you can't smoke anyhow."

She's not alone. Many seniors are making the difficult decision to kick the habit some have had since they were teens. They want to do it for their health and for the health of loved ones, and many are finding success with the help of support groups designed specifically for seniors.

"There are some challenges for the older adult that are different than the younger adult," says Linda Thomas, manager of the M-Fit Tobacco Consultation Service at the U-M Health System (UMHS). "What we see in the research and what we have found in our program is skill-building and education are less important for the older adult, and that social support and strategies of dealing with social isolation and depression that can come from quitting smoking are more important."

With that in mind, Thomas runs support groups for older adults, including Smoking Cessation for Seniors at the Turner Senior Resource Center. The content of the class is much different from classes for younger adults. For instance, Thomas doesn't talk as much about the physiological effects of nicotine in the class for seniors. The psychological aspects of smoking and the process of breaking a longtime behavioral pattern are more important for seniors, she says.

"We discuss the relationship between the physical addiction and some of the behavioral, learned aspects of smoking," Thomas says. "But for the most part, it is a time for our older adults to actually go through a mourning process of giving up cigarettes."

Group members also continue attending the sessions as long as they want—including some people who still are attending three years after they began.

The sessions have a 58 percent quit rate at 12 months for participants who have attended three or more sessions. Compare that to a national rate of 5 percent among all adults and it shows the U-M success rate is "pretty outstanding," Thomas says.

Even for people who have been smoking for decades, Thomas notes it's never too late to kick the unhealthy habit. Quitting can have health benefits for people, no matter what age they are when they stop smoking.

What do you do when you're ready to stop smoking? Thomas says it's important to make a plan and set a date to quit, get some help with a cognitive behavioral program and use nicotine replacement, such as patches or gum.

"And definitely get support," Thomas says. Bennett, for one, is doing well with the help of the support group. "I'm tired of smelling like smoke, and I just have that feeling that this is going to be it," she says. "I do not need cigarettes anymore. It's a crutch, and I don't need it."

Robert A. Borowski, 69, is hoping to acquire that same mindset. He's been smoking a pack to a pack-and-a-half a day for about 50 years and after an emotional encounter with a grandchild he has decided the time is right to quit.

"I have three lovely grandchildren, and the 10 year-old brought me a little poster for me to 'Quit smoking, Grandpa,'" Borowski says. "And, well, my wife and son are after me and I recognize for health purposes I really need to quit.

"I have what appears to be a great support group here, preparing you mentally on what to expect, how to overcome some of the urges and what to do when you get them," he says. "I think it'll make it a lot easier, and I think I'll be successful."

Kicking habit can be difficult for seniors; support groups help

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