I began smoking cigarettes at age thirteen while I was away at sleep away camp. Despite the cliché that teenagers begin smoking to look "cool," for me, it was just the opposite. I was terrified of what was expected of me as I became an adult. Instead, I retreated behind a cloud of smoke.
I smoked through high school, college, graduate school. I did stop for the better part of one summer before my senior year of college. But during a road trip once classes resumed, as I drove the rental car across the New York State Thruway with Joe Jackson playing on the tape-deck, I took one of my friend’s cigarettes and lit it. Within hours, I was back to a pack a day.
After graduate school, my smoking really became an impediment to my social and professional life. I once worked on the 101st Floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center, and it took me at least 20 minutes to get outside so that I could huddle in the windy doorway to smoke. And when I would be out on a date with someone interesting, I would get the urge and sneak away to the ladies room to smoke, hoping that the smell didn’t linger on me. Of course, it scared me continually about my health.
Finally, when I reached my mid-thirties, I signed up for a course called FreshStart, an American Cancer Society program, sponsored by the local Y. The course is designed so that you taper off in a very structured way. As the course went on, one of the assignments was to smoke one less cigarette each day. On June 19, I was down to 2 cigarettes. I smoked one during the morning. I had one left to smoke for the whole rest of the day. I didn’t want to waste it – so I kept putting it off. I met some friends for dinner. I got there early. Instead of smoking that last cigarette, I went into the Barnes & Noble and meandered around. I told myself that I’d smoke it later, after dinner. But after dinner, I put it off again. I told myself that I’d smoke it when I got home. But when I got home, I decided to just put on my pajamas and go right to sleep. I knew that because I had only smoked one cigarette that day, when I would awake the next day, I would be down to zero.
Although the next few days were not fun, I was promised by the instructor that if I didn’t smoke, each day would get a bit easier. Instead of smoking, I rewarded myself with the money I was saving with little gifts, like manicures, magazines, and exotic teas. To keep my focus on things other than smoking, I tried new things. And the promise proved itself.
Particularly that first year, I had to learn all over again how to do things without smoking. I didn’t know how to answer the phone, finish a meal, walk up the steps from the subway to the street, wait for a bus, take a work break without a cigarette. I had to relearn how to get scolded by a boss, get annoyed at my family and fight with my boyfriend without smoking. However, millions of people do these things very successfully, every day without smoking. In fact, rather than hiding the problem behind a cloud of smoke, I actually became better able to handle life’s stresses without sucking on poison, harming myself.
One year later, still smoke-free, I took training by the American Cancer Society. I became a trained facilitator, or "coach" to help others become free of the evil weeds. I have run successful programs for one of New York City’s hospitals.
I emphasize many things with people who come to quit. Importantly, a key to quitting is realizing that a person who smokes isn’t a bad, flawed person, but an addicted person. We’ve trained ourselves to smoke for every reason. When we’re hungry, we smoke. That makes no sense, hunger = smoke. Yet, when we’re full from a satisfying meal, we smoke. Like any other addiction, smoking addiction is not rational. The mind says, "I want to, but I don’t want to, but I want to, but I don’t want to...." That's addiction speaking.
Unlike many other addictions, however, ours finds its substance coming from some of the best-funded corporate laboratories the world has ever seen. I remember distinctly when those tobacco executives appeared before Congress -- testifying, under oath, that cigarettes weren't addictive. My mind responded with, "Bullshit!" At that point, I realized how hooked I was. What’s the purpose of a cigarette? It’s simple -- selling you your next cigarette.
And from among the it's never too late stories -- 3 years ago, my mom, at age 75, quit smoking, too.
From the journey that started on June 19, 1999, I learned optimism. Life comes with very few guarantees, but this one held true. Indeed, if I take good care of myself today, tomorrow will be incrementally better.
Congratulations GUS bloggers! You’re doing a great thing, and a great job doing it.
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The 5 "Ds" (plus "W")
The 5 "Ds" are tips that quitters say helped them a lot.
They are:
- DEEP breathe
- DRINK a lot of water
- DO something else
- DIAL a friend
- DELAY
- WALK - It's Spring. Get out, even for a short one.
websites for other materials:
American Cancer Society
NYS Quitline
CDC Resources
National Cancer Institute, NIH Resources
GUS Sodas - Delicious, Grown Up Soda - a great alternative.
Current members of the GUS team! Please comment or email bsmechanic35 at yahoo, if you would like to join, or if your name is here in error
1BQ
amk for obama
bgblcklab1
blue husky
bsmechanic
coppercelt
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gchaucer2
Im a frayed knot
interceptor7
khloemi
LarsThorwald
magicsister
MinervainNH
nannyboz
Pennsylvanian
sallycat
seenaymah
smartcookienyc
Wood Dragon
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