by Tim Howard

Created on: May 22, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Quitting smoking was the most difficult thing that I have ever done. In fact it was so trying that it threatened many of my personal relationships. Cigarettes truly were my best friend. Only after being smoke free for ten years, can I now look back and say that it was all worth it.

I have acquaintances who are alcoholics. They believe that when I compare nicotine addiction to their experience, that I am disrespecting them somehow. I disagree. Tobacco does not tear lives apart like alcohol but it causes serious health problems that can ruin families. I offer my experience as an example. By age 36 I had been smoking for nearly 20 years. I was about to make my fourth attempt at kicking nicotine.

After I turned 30 I started to notice a decline in my health. It began with the colds. Usually at the first sign of winter, I would catch one. The cold would linger through the holidays. If I was lucky it would go away sometime in the dead of winter. Then come spring or early summer I would catch another. This pattern continued for several years then took an ugly turn. What began to happen was this; soon after the cold would go away, I would get a sinus infection which would then morph into horrible headaches. Finally I would break down and see a doctor who usually prescribed an antibiotic. The repeating pattern became an annual ritual which left me with roughly 2-3 months of good health per year. This took a toll on my life. Dragging myself to work everyday made me so tired that I had little quality time left for my family. The time that we did spend together was usually sedentary. Rarely did we participate in any activities together.

Besides the colds I also began to notice how short of breath I was. I think that the first time I really noticed this was when I was parked in a mall parking lot and it began to rain. I started running to my car. By the time I reached it, I was completely winded. I was 35 years old going on 70. This is when I first found the desire to quit. Everyone says that most smokers have to quit several times before it actually becomes permanent. My experience proved this out.

The first time I quit it was on a dare from my son. Unfortunately I was not committed and it lasted less than 24 hours. The next time our son pleaded with my wife and I to quit. We made a pact and did so. Armed with nicotine gum we began. I think that we made it about 7 days. The next time I quit by myself. I was smoke free for about 2 weeks but then backslid. The final time, I went to the doctor, got a prescription for Xyban, and quit cold turkey. I have been smoke free for 10 years now but it was a difficult journey. The first year was excruciatingly difficult from a mental standpoint. My family also suffered. I was incredibly hard to live with. Year 2 was tough but an improvement over year 1. Each succeeding year has gotten easier. Occasionally the desire to smoke will still come over me but now the urges are fleeting at best.

Despite how hard it was to quit, it was completely worth it. In the ten years since I have been sick only twice and each time it was a mild head cold that only lasted 3 or 4 days. I have run half marathons. I walk to work. I have the health and energy to do almost anything that I want to. My advice to someone contemplating quitting is to keep trying and persevere. It will be an incredibly difficult journey but the reward is well worth it.

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