Dr. Bastian Quotations

Nicotine addiction is such a powerful force that even the heartbreak of watching a family member die of lung cancer often isn't enough to convince smokers to quit.

Our hypothesis is that smokers who receive counseling will be more likely to quit smoking. We are hoping for a 25 percent to 30 percent success rate, which appears to be low but would be a significant improvement over the current rate.

Overall our feedback has been good. We're hopeful.

These are things that people could do in the car, while they're waiting in the doctor's office, all those kinds of things.

A nicotine patch may not be enough. We have a group of smokers who are often interested in stopping, but don't have the tools needed to be successful. Family members often tell us they are motivated to quit but the stress of caring for their relative with lung cancer makes it the worst time in their lives to try.

This could be a time when they really would think about quitting smoking because they see the consequences in real life.