One of my teenage patients who is trying to quit smoking passed along the following tip, which may help young smokers in your practice: The patient told me that she carries around a package of colorful straws and places one in her mouth when she feels a craving for a cigarette. She says that blowing through the straw and biting on it helps simulate the experience of having a cigarette in her mouth and reduces her need to smoke by giving her mouth something to do.
Stacey Maslow, MDFramingham, Mass.