How One Woman Quit Smoking for Good

WebMD Community Member Mary Ann Andersen was a lifelong smoker, but with renewed faith and lots of support, she was able to say goodbye to cigarettes forever.

I smoked for more than 44 years and knew I needed to stop. I had smoking-induced asthma. My parents, both heavy smokers, died of smoking-related diseases. Secondhand smoke contributed mightily to my four children’s recurring upper respiratory ailments in their younger years. Yet I continued to smoke.
Every winter I dealt with pleurisy attacks from breathing cold air. I had to lie flat on my back for days, the slightest movement sending knifelike pains through my chest. After I’d recovered, the first thing I reached for was a cigarette. And there were the occasional visits to the hospital ER, where I’d get an injection of adrenaline to jump-start my breathing. I endured untold bouts of asthmatic bronchitis. Violent coughing spasms sent me straight to the toilet bowl, each heave accompanied by the vow, “I’ll never smoke again!” It was a vow I never kept.
Did I ever try to quit? Of course. Most attempts were only halfhearted because I was constantly searching for the magic bullet that would instantaneously zap me from smoker to nonsmoker.
That all changed on April 27, 2001, the day I said goodbye to nicotine. I’d finally had it. My motivation? No money for cigs or nicotine patches and a long overdue explosion of more than 44 years’ worth of pent-up anger at myself, at addiction, at nicotine. I shredded the remains of my last pack of smokes into the waste-basket, grabbed a bottle of water, took a deep breath, and prayed, “You have to help me, Lord. I’ll do my part by not smoking if you help me deal with stress.” Believe it or not, from that first day my life did change: Every time I craved a smoke or felt stress creeping in, I’d swig on that bottle of water and/or deep-breathe my way through it, but I didn’t smoke.
Then, browsing the Internet a few weeks into my recovery, I found WebMD’s Smoking Cessation Support Group Message Board. I lurked for several days, reading messages, getting a feel for the place. The posters seemed like regular folks helping each other quit and stay off cigarettes. They talked one another through stressful times and celebrated large and small victories over demon nicotine.
They also helped me realize that recovery is a gift and that, while addictions are never cured, recovery is within reach of us all. As for me, I believe my recovery will continue as long as I maintain an awareness of the power of addiction and continue to be willing to do what is necessary to protect and nurture my recovery.
Yes, 44 years of smoking have taken their toll: My breathing is compromised. I use an inhaler, and I don’t move as fast as I’d like. But at age 68, my quality of life is far better than if I’d continued smoking.
I am most grateful to God and the support group for helping me on my recovery journey. If I can quit, anyone can.

Smokeout Good Time To Quit Smoking

It is sometimes hard to believe that the most preventable form of cancer is also the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be a total of 213,380 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the United States alone this year. Also, they estimate that 160,390 Americans will die of lung cancer in 2007.While seeing these numbers may or may not alarm you, it is when a close friend or family member is part of these statistics that we really start to worry. What if one of the 213,380 new cases diagnosed is your brother? What if one is your aunt? What if one is you? Then lung cancer becomes more than just the leading cause of cancer death; it becomes your reality.The good news is that many of these cases of lung cancer can be prevented by not smoking or quitting smoking. While quitting smoking is much easier said than done, it is possible to greatly reduce your risk of lung cancer by doing so.The best way to prevent lung cancer is to never start smoking at all. For some of us, it is too late to decide not to start smoking, but it is never too late to quit. Quitting smoking not only reduces your risk of lung cancer, but it reduces your risk of other cancers, heart attack, and stroke. According to the American Cancer society, former smokers live longer than continuing smokers. Major health benefits can be seen in people with and without disease who quit smoking.Quitting smoking benefits your wallet as well as your health. With the recent tax increase in January 2007, the price of every pack of cigarettes has gone up a whole dollar. It is easy to see that a dollar per pack can add up very quickly for heavy smokers.If quitting for your own health and your wallet is not enough, consider the health of those around you. Secondhand smoke can raise a non-smoker's risk of cancer, heart disease, and other respiratory problems.Children are more prone to respiratory tract infections, middle ear infections, and asthma attacks when they are exposed to secondhand smoke. Smoking around children also sets an example for them that smoking is acceptable.There are plenty of reasons to quit smoking, but it is an extremely difficult thing to do. Fortunately, there are many resources and tools available to help you be successful at quitting. According to the American Cancer Society, there is no one right way to quit, but there are several elements to quitting successfully, including:
Make the decision to quit.
Set a quit date, and choose a quit plan.
Deal with withdrawal symptoms.
Maintain your status as a non-smoker.The ACS Web site at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/index.asp is just one of many great organizations that would love to help you quit smoking.Texas Cooperative Extension and The Texas Cancer Council encourage all smokers to take part in the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 15 in a step to eventually quit smoking.Shelia Lewis is a Smith County Extension agent in family and consumer sciences. She can be reached at sk-lewis@tamu.edu. This column on family and consumer education news appears in the Thursday Community section of the Tyler Morning Telegraph.