winners

Smoke No More
WINNERS TESTIMONIALS

"Addiction is any compulsive, habitual behavior that limits the freedom of human desire."-- Gerald G. May.

LISTED BELOW ARE WAYS THAT SOME PEOPLE QUIT SMOKING.
They wish to share the ways they quit, in the hope it will help you quit

We also would like to add your quit smoking story to our list. You never know when someone will identify with you and
adopt your method of quitting. You could become instrumential in helping someone quit for life. Recently one of our quitters
emailed me the note below for all of us to think about:

Hi,....My name is Cathy. I am moderator of SNM Advanced Support
Group AD. One of my members passed away on Jan 3rd. Her name
was Sharon she turned 53 on Dec 26th. The Group and myself thought that
maybe you would like to put one of her posts as a testimonial in the testimonial
pages of the SNM program. It is a very powerful post. I think if she thought it would
help others she would like it posted. We will miss her dearly.
Good-bye to our friend Sharon Pennington
who's passing reminds us all of the terrible waste of another beautiful life
By the Tobacco industry.
.......................................................... ..............................

In Loving Memory of
Sharon M. Pennington

December 26,1947
Cannon City, Colorado

January 3, 2001
Canon City, Colorado

...........................

....................................................................

......................

.
FROM: SHARON
Well said Sissy.....I like your style!!!!! If you could all see me or
follow me for a week you could see how it is to slowly die from
this..... I smoked hot and heavy for 9 more years after my dx. of E and
COPD..I pushed myself right to the edge of the grave, jumped in and tried
it once. Thanks to a good Dr. and RT team I am still here....Hell I
loved smoking it was something I was good at....and I could stop when I
really wanted to......I stopped because I could not inhale anymore with
my 02 off..Can't smoke with it on..For 9 months I'd take a hit of cig
out of left hand and a hit of 02 out of right.What a picture that
was!!!!Sissy is right we don't have to quit I am proof of that..So what
that I can't walk but 20 ft. or so when my 02 drops to 80 I wet myself
and the lung pain is severe...or I couldn't hold my #5 grandson. When
you take out that cig, think of me....I quit. I will live and I am going
to rock in the New Year..Help make those years I blew away count for
something. Write my name on that last cig, Nov. 15th and remind me
when I falter that I am important....Linda Happy Birthday!!!!Team D.
...Determined Quitters...Hope I haven't depressed anyone just the urge
to smoke.. Love to all....Sharon
.

1.....Olivija Gwynne
I also would like to add a "self-portrait" Visual Testimonial on the effects of smoking in my life.

Age 16.......................Age 32.......................................Age 58.............

.
Olivija's Quit Smoking Story

Did you know when you smoked and thought you were so aware that the tobacco companies were adding hundreds of other toxic, deadly chemicalls to the tobacco you smoked? Do you blame them for that? Do you blame them for knowing all this, and shredding all the
information on it so no one would find out? I blame a large knowledgable corporation for more than, I blame myself or any other
addicted smoker for.
We all started on a whim as a kid. It takes no time to form the addiction. You are still a kid only now you are a kid with a habit who will
spend all their money on their addiction. Hell yes I blame them more than I do that dumb kid way back then. By the time we figure it out
and we want to quit, we also find out it ain't that easy to quit with all the stresses in our life. So most of us smoke on till the crash and the diagnosis that ends our life as we once knew it. Ask me if I blame the lying, two-faced, money-grabbing, depraved indifferenced to life,
sub human corporate exects! Go ahead ask me...You can bet your last HEARTBEAT I do!!!!!
.

2.....Bill Powell.

.
Bill's Quit Smoking Story
"When I was in the 6th grade, my friends and I used to gather at recess at a field behind the school, eat grapefruit and Florida lemons which
we harvested from the trees there, and smoke grapevines. With my 50 cents a week allowance, I would sometimes buy a pack of Lucky
Strikes for my non-existent Grandmother. So started my smoking career, which began in earnest when I was in high school and continued
until I had a lung collapse in 1988. When that happened, my primary physician said that it was not necessary for me to quit smoking – if I
was not interested in living much longer. Using the 5 day hospital stay as a head start, I quit smoking cold turkey and never sneaked another
puff –not even a grapevine. " Is that the whole story? No, not exactly. Actually my story of quitting smoking comes in several parts.
The being while I was in the service. I know I tried several times to give up cigarettes to no avail. Just did not have the willpower to stick
to it. I can remember one instance when I was in the Philippines and we decided to visit Corregidor which was the last strong point of the Philippines in W.W.II. We were going to visit this island by boat and be gone all day. Bill, in his ultimate wisdom, decided at the last minute
to go cold turkey and quit smoking. I figured I would have the added help in this endeavor because there would not be any place to get a
smoke. Then to be doubly sure, I told the other three smokers with meon the trip that I was quitting. Oh, my! That was one of the worst
days in my life! I lasted about 24 hours and then smoked everything in sight. Grapevines would even have been welcomed. I had a couple
of other episodes trying to smoke that ended in complete failure. But then came the collapsed lung and in conjunction with the five day
hospital stay for a head start, was able to make it stick. Once I was able to get rid of the smokes, there was improvement in my general
health and well being. It did not reverse the COPD, nothing has been found to do that yet, but I honestly believe that the progression has
been significantly reduced. Bottom line - keep smoking if you want to kill yourself. Of course, maybe you will be lucky and have a lung
collapse. If it does not kill you, maybe you can stop like I did.
.

3. Fred Shippee for Heidi

.
Heidi`s Story
She`s gone now, and I`m alone, but I will write her story for you. She fought the Emphysema-on oxygen 24 hours
a day for the last two years- but after brochitis, two bouts with pneumonia and respitatory failure, she can`t warn
you and must depend on me to do all the things she always hoped to do.
Heidi started smoking at 15 or 16 in high school. It was the smart thing to do-we all did it. Nobody told us it would
kill us someday. Someday before we did all the wonderful things that we had worked a lifetime to earn and could
now do in retirement.
Heidi loved her kids, her grandkids and her dogs . We kept smoking even when we finally learned it could
harm us. After a lifetime of 2 packs a day she tried to quit. First Smoke Enders, then acupuncture, then
hypnosis. But an old habit is hard to break. It wasn`t until 7 years ago, after almost 50 years, that the
combination of "the patch" and retirement enabled her to stop. It was to late and she soon could no longer
travel or do the many things she so enjoyed. Smoking had always been smart and we were lucky enough to
get a really weird Polariod shot-just black and white of Heidi (second from left) having a cigarette -eery- like,
was she really there? So we framed it and proudly added it to our collection of special pictures.
The fourth and final picture is all I have left today-Heidi`s ashes and a certificate attesting that once she lived.
I will carry that plain, brown, small box to her beloved Paris where she wished to rest with so many of the things
she loved so much but not for as long as she expected.
Fred
Heidi Shippee passed on June 12, 1999
.

4. Ron Peterson St. Louis, Mo

All about Ron's Video .......... Ron's Writeup

.
I would like to thank all the people in my life, who have helped me to leave cigarettes behind for the past 3 years. On January 9, 1996
(1095 days ago), I stopped smoking because I coughed so much every time I took just one hit of the mildest cigarette I could find that
I thought I would die if I took just one more drag. I was as severely addicted asinine I have ever heard of. I can honestly say that I tried
to quit all of my adult life. I remember the first time I tried to quit at age 15. When I quit at age 51 it was 36 years later. During this time,
I tried every method known to man and made up a few of my own. Many will tell us in the lung disease community that there is no getting
back lost lung function taken away by smoking. I am here to tell those still trying to quit that this is not true and I offer objective proof of
this by looking at my peak flow meter average readings for the past 11 years. I was diagnosed with emphysema 12 years ago and currently
have an FEV1 level of 18%. Each of these average readings represent thousands of individual recordings that I made during each of the
testing years. Please note that the average continued to decrease for a full year after I stopped smoking and then went back up and have
stayed up for the second year after stopping smoking. The corresponding average for an individual of my age without lung disease is about
600 lpm.year years since stopping smoking yearly peak flow average (lpm)
                                                  1998 3 341
                                                1997 2 344
                                                  1996 1 303
                                                   1995 - 305
                                                   1994 - 345
                                                   1993 - 357
                                                   1991 - 368
I have also seen a similar stabilization of my FEV1 readings over this same time period
                                             Here are the numbers: years since stopping smoking FEV1 level (%)
                                                   1998 2 18
                                                   1997 1 19
                                                   1996 0 18
                                                   1996 0 21              .....................................................................................................1994 - 24
           .....................................................................................................1993 - 24
       .........................................................................................................1991 - 27
                                     ............ ...........................................................................   1990 - 31
                                   ............................................................................................1987 - 41 You should also be aware that I have recently voluntarily deactivated from a lung transplant list because I am doing so well. My doctors
at Barnes Hospital in St Louis agreed with my decision. Please visit my web site at:    http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/spa/7154/
You will find additional evidence there that my health continues to improve as well as: many helpful hints for living well with lung disease.
Links to locations that aid in stopping smoking are also included. If you are one of the millions still trying to quit, take heart in these
numbers and know that there is hope for improvement in your ability to breathe after quitting smoking. I replaced smoking with
exercise in my life. Perhaps that will work for you also.

AN EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS
Sun, 10 Feb 2002 21:10:12 -0500
I was 13 years old in 1957 when I started smoking to feel the excitement of trying something new. Nobody had even hinted to
me that there were health problems from smoking.
The first surgeon general's report on smoking was issued shortly after that and I learned there were health problems that came from smoking and immediately started to try to stop smoking.
The first time I tried to quit at age 15, I could not do it. I was hooked. I knew I was harming myself by smoking, but I could not quit.
In the next 38 years of my life, I tried to quit over 100 times without success. I used every aid known to mankind to help me,
but I could not do it.
Even after I was diagnosed with emphysema at the age of 44 and told that I had at best a 5 year life expectancy if I continued
to smoke, I still could not quit.
In desperation, I considered taking my own life and even planned how I would do it. As miserable as I was, I still couldn't
quit smoking.
Finally, 8 years after my emphysema diagnosis, I was able to quit smoking when the disease became so severe that I started
getting frequent lung infections. During one of these infections, every time I took even one drag off a cigarette, I coughed so
hard that I passed out.
What a wake up call that was to me! I knew in the center of my being that I was going to die very soon if I did not stop
smoking cigarettes.
I was finally able to stop smoking by replacing a bad habit (smoking) with a good one (exercise). Every time I felt the urge for
a smoke, I walked until I was exhausted and then slept.
I applied for and was accepted as a candidate for a lung transplant in early 1997 and was given a single lung transplant for
Christmas in 2000 (12-27-00; #553 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis, the last transplant done at
Barnes in the millennium).
During the 4 years that I waited for transplant, I decided to help others. What a wonderful change that made in my life!
The more I helped others, the more I helped myself.
I started out by creating a video in 1997 about living better with lung disease. The information in the video was advice from 18
people who I had first "met" on the internet who were doing exceptionally well living with emphysema. I lived in a camper on the
back of my pickup truck for 8 weeks as I traveled around the eastern half of the US to record each "emphysema
superstar" with a camcorder.
I remember thinking as I traveled around the country (using supplemental oxygen that I refilled in oxygen shops along my route)
that I was doing this because I could. So many others would have wanted to do the same video but were too ill to do so. Many
others were not yet sick enough to realize how badly the information was needed by those with lung disease.
The video entitled, "Living with Emphysema" eventually went to over 500 locations around the world including many hospital
pulmonary rehabilitation programs. In 1998, I created another video of advice to those with lung disease from those who had
received a lung transplant and were participating in the transplant olympics in Columbus, Ohio.
As I continued to wait for the lung transplant and continued to send out videos, I also wrote several papers on the subject of aids
to living with lung disease and it occurred to me that even if the videos and papers were successful and people learned to live
better with lung disease, that was not enough to change the status quo and minimize the biggest preventable disease
known to man.
Generation after generation of very young people have started smoking before they are aware of the addictive nature of cigarettes.
Then many can't quit and often die needlessly from lung disease later in life. There are only enough donor lungs so that approximately
one of 2000 who contract emphysema is able to receive a lung transplant as I did; the others die. As wonderful as transplant is
for those who get one, it is not the solution.
That is the reason why I changed my focus from trying to help those with lung disease to helping to prevent the young from starting
to smoke cigarettes. Many others who either have lung disease or have had a loved one affected by lung disease also understand why
this movement is so crucial and have joined me in working together to create and distribute videos to help the young to never start smoking.
Our latest (3rd) offering is a video entitled, "TEEN SMOKERS SPEAK OUT" that contains camcorder footage of 10 teenagers
who smoke cigarettes and can't quit. They describe their experiences with smoking and advise the young (8-12 years old) to never
start.
I have been traveling around the United States for 122 days promoting and distributing TEEN SMOKERS SPEAK OUT to those
who can get it in front of kids aged 8-13 years. I continually hear that this approach to helping the young to not start smoking has
not been tried in the past. This approach is an experiment in progress. I ask whomever I give the video to if they will participate in
this experiment by asking the kids after viewing the video to fill out a questionnaire and return it us by mail. Early reports are
favorable and available at <http://www.geocities.com/ronaldpeterson/SmokingTeensSpeakOut.html What I believe to be the
most important finding to date in this program is that the teenagers who smoked (that I asked to appear in the video and advise
younger kids) were anxious to do so. Teen smokers want to help the kids to not make the same mistake they did!
The ramifications of this proactive attitude of smoking teens to help prevent the young from starting to smoke include pointing
out how easy it would be for a youth group (or interested parent) with a camcorder in every town to make a similar video with local smoking teens. These locally produced videos would be even more effective that the video we have produced.
Until this is done, however, SMOKING TEENS SPEAK OUT is available for viewing and downloading at this location
<http://www.geocities.com/ronaldpeterson.geo> You may also request a copy in VHS or DVD format by writing to Dick Wyatt, Treasurer, Prevention Video
Corporation, 1708 N Jsackson, Little Rock Ar 72207. Please pass this
information on to others who you feel might be able to get it to the kids!
Our goal is to continually move closer to smoke free generations.
Please help.
Contributions to our non profit corporation are tax deductable and will help
us continue to produce and distribute the advice from the smoking teens to the kids.
Thank you for doing anything you can to help the young to never start smoking cigarettes.
Ron Peterson February 10, 2002 Austin, Texas

Age 19......................................................Age 41
5. Bee Branch Wallburg, NC

.
I started smoking (among other things) when I was about 15. Because my father was a heavy smoker, my parents didn't think it was right
for them to try to stop me. I just had to pay for my own ciggies. We had a smoking area at school for us "cool" people in jean jackets
who were really into "Stairway to Heaven" and footsball. It felt so great to finally fit in somewhere. I enjoyed the "other" things we inhaled
and injested, too. I thought this was freedom. After high school, I went into the Army, where I began to have bouts with tonsilitis and
bronchitis. At age 19 or 20, the doctor showed me my X-rays, said all those clouds should not be there, and warned me that if I did not
stop smoking, I would likely have emphysema at an early age. I ignored him, went back to my bed, and attempted to smoke a cigarette,
although it proved to be impossible. I did manage to quit smoking for almost a year, but bought a carton of cigs when I was trying to
quit drinking, at age 23. I smoked for a total of about 10 years. When I quit for good, it was because I was suffering physically. I had
always been athletic, and used to walk or bike a couple miles to work, but was getting short of breath from walking a block to the store.
I seemed to always have bronchitis or some other illness, and daily headaches. I felt like poop on a stick. Quitting was hard! I don't
know the date of my last puff, because I kept quitting and taking it back. But I did quit. I remember drinking lots of orange juice and
chewing flavored toothpicks. Shortly after I stopped smoking, I had so much energy! I started walking, then jogging, and biking and
playing softball. It was great! I felt so alive! I am certain that quitting the smokes saved my life. It was several years afterward that I
developed a persistant cough that went on for a couple years, until I finally ended up in a hospital in ICU. I had pneumonia and asthma,
both of which had been "missed" by all the doctors I had gone to for help. There was almost no oxygen left in my blood. I was
diagnosed with COPD this year, after months of struggling to breathe. I have asthma and chronic bronchitis. The jury is still out
on whether I have emphysema or not. Two doctors have said they think I do, and one sounded pretty sure. It's likely that these
problems are more a result of industrial toxins than smoking, but I'm sure things would have been much worse if I had still been
smoking. Like, I think I'd be dead.
.

"THINK RAINBOWS AND SMILE"

6. Sheila Shiel ........ Va Beach, Va.

.
I smoked from theage of 12 until the age of 56 plus. I started with Lucky Strikes went to Camels, Kools, right down the line. I tried
stopping and always went back. In 1996, about a year after transporting to VA Beach from NYC, I became quite ill. Went to the
Emergency Room at VA Beach Hosp. They admitted me and I remained in Intensive Care Cardiac Unit for about 6 days. My last
cigarette was at around12:00 Noon on Saturday, Aug. 24, 1996. It tasted awful and I coughed and spit up a lot on the way to the
E.R. Of course, I could not smoke for the duration of my hospital stay. When I was discharged, I pretended that my cigarettes had
died: I read my 'Grief Counseling' book and "How to Deal with Loss" book over and over. I cried. My mood wasn't the best;
recovering from the exacerbation of COPD, withdrawal symptoms from nicotine, and Prednisone! My doctor told me I would die
if I smoked again; I knew this was true, I had been told this many times before. At first, I ate a lot, I used hard candy to chew on,
whatever substitute I could. When I thought of cigarettes, I cried; they had died and I was in mourning. At first, I did gain weight,
but have now stabilized and begun losing, a little at a time, despite the Prednisone. The desire for cigarettes had gone away but there
are times when I can actually smell and taste that cigarette! I take a deep breath and reside the Serenity Prayer, I say it three times
daily "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to now
the difference." I also say it when I get that rare craving for a cigarette. It has been 2 years and 2 months now. I still have
COPD/Emphysema, Chronic Bronchitis, and Asthma. However, my asthm attacks are less frequent. My condition has not gotten
better, but it hasn't gotten that much worse either. There are good days and bad days, but if you pray hard, learn to control maybe
you can stop, with the help of God. I hope this will help someone. Think Rainbows!
."The Magic Feeling of Life...
another SS original. Dated 8/22/2001

It's 5 years since I stopped smoking that terrible weed,
And now I wonder, how could I have done that , indeed?
I now am free and able to breathe,
Even with my COPD.
I can taste the wonderful foods that I eat.
And smell the flowers as they bloom.
And see the wonderful outline of a full moon.

When I was smoking and everything was in a haze,
I walked around in a daze.
Now I can enjoy the magic of life,
And see so much as things pass by.

I am alert and alive once more,
Without questioning what life is for,
I feel love,
And am in touch,
With everything that I do.
I feel brand new.

My condition is now stable,
And there is so much I am able to do.
I can think with a clear head,
And I certainly am far from dead.

I take time to stop and smell the roses,
And think of rainbows and smiles,
All the while.

See that blue sky up above?
It's God there, showing his love.
I can walk on the beach,
And speak clearly to those that I meet.

No holes in my clothes or stink in my house,
I'm free of that weed - yes indeed.

Happy Anniversary to ME!
On August 24, 2001, it will be
exactly 5 years since I gave up my addiction,
to that disgusting weed.

...

...........Still Smoking - Age 60.........Age 70 - No longer Smoking

7. Ron Green in the UK

.
Looking back on over 50 years as a smoker and 4 years as a non-smoker I've had time to reflect on why I've finished up with Emphysema.

Some of you will know that I live in England where the approach to smoking has only in fairly recent times been the subject of serious
debate. For many years no "Health Warnings" were included in advertising or on packaging and when the subject of the effects of
smoking on health came up it was invariably related to lung cancer. Like many of my peers I went for regular chest x-rays and each
time came away with "that's ok no problems", and so it seemed the only consistent problem being a smoker's cough, but we all had that
didn't we!

Time went on and the anti-smoking lobby started to get more vocal and thegovernment started increasing the tax on tobacco products to
help pay for hospital treatment for people with lung cancer. Eventually health warnings started to appear and following a major fire on the
London Underground resulting from a discarded cigarette end, serious thought was being given to banning smoking at work, in public
places, et al. The tobacco industry were keeping pretty quite although they started to produce low tar, low nicotine cigarettes but only
because they were pressurised. All this time I was still living in the "Fool's Paradise" believing that as my x-rays weren't showing "C"
symptons, all was still well.

For the last 15 years of my smoking life I was travelling around the world as a commissioning engineer for equipment being used in
conjunction with with cigarette manufacture in the third world. As I walked round some of these factories I realised that what was being
used in the cigarettes was not just tobacco, many chemical compounds were being added, and in some places spilt tobacco from the
factory floor was being swept up and re-cycled. Still the penny didn't drop and I carried on puffing aided & abetted by the makers who
were handing out free supplies to all the contractor's who wanted them.

Eventually it was not health considerations which inspired me to quit, it was cost, (today 20 cigs cost $6.40) and even now I don't think
that the average person really knows what problems they can be letting themselves in for. Smoking may cause lung cancer but it can as
sure as hell not do your heart and lungs any favours.

Perhaps we were all misled about the effects of smoking, perhaps it was the smoke in our eyes that made us blind, but whatever the
reason we are subscribing to this list we have all got something we could well do without. There is a saying about not crying over
spilt milk, I could cry and make myself really miserable but what has been done is history and the future is what we make of it.

Well I've quit now, food tastes better, clothes smell nicer, and my puffing is for air not tobacco smoke. Perhaps our experiences can
be used to help other people kick the habit or preferably not even start it.

I love those clichés, light at the end of the tunnel, it never rains but it pours, as well as the spilt milk, but here's one that we can all
use. The last breath we took might have been our last, but it wasn't!

Ron in the UK.
.

8. Bill Potter ............. Benld, Illinois

..
After many times of trying to quit smoking I think I may have it beat this I havent smoked since June 4th,1998. I was put on Bupropion
which is just about the same as zyban except cheaper. I started takeing it in Feb. 1998. Until June but, it didn't stop me so I got the
patch and used 9 of them and haven't had a cig. since. I smoked 2 packs of Lucky Strikes a day. I hope this helps you out.
.

9. Arlene Rothenberg ........ New Jersey

..
"how I stopped smoking"
I'd like to share my story. Because I was a little paranoid about gaining weight, I decided to 'taper' off the damn weed. I used the
clock, because I realized that I sometimes 'chain' smoked. I forced myself to wait one-half hour before I could light another butt.
Boy, did I clock-watch! After a few days, I added another15 minutes and a few days later, I went a full hour between those coffin
nails. After that, I added increments of 15 or 30 minutes and later on, a full hour, between smokes. It took me roughly 3 weeks
and 3 cartons of cigarettes and I had my last (very stale) cigarette mid-afternoon, Labor Day, 1984. BTW, I gained 8 pounds
within a week, but at least the nicotine withdrawn was fairly painless.
.

10. Suzi Reed ..................... Ca.

.
I went to Smokers Anonymous. I'm not sure I could have done it without that group. It was wonderful to find out others let that d...
weed rule their lives for year after year. I stood up at one meeting and said I had walked around my back yard screaming and crying
in the middle of the night and several heads bobbed up and down. Wow..What a relief to know even if I was nuts I had company.
The one thing that really helped me was knowing that the actual craving for nicotine only lasts a minute and you can beat anything
for a minute. (Those first weeks it was one minute at a time for me.) Also the realization that the little white wand is your best friend
and best friends are hard to give up. I found that ice cold water and sucking on ice chips also helped. And then of cource I kept Frito
Lay in business for 6 months. I craved salt and fritos were the saltiest thing I could find. I must have eaten barrels of those things. If
you can use any of this be my guest and feel free to use my name and email to write me if you need help.
.

11. Tim Moran...........Southern Ca.

.
I would hazard a guess that most of us with COPD, are or have been smoking. In my family alone smoking and the big E have claimed
the life of my Mother at 76, is taking my Father, now 84, and has crippled Two of my Sister's and me. I have one younger brother that
has lung damage and never smoked. We do not have Alpha 1. I smoked for 35 years, the last 10 I smoked three packs a day. In
January of 1997 I was hospitalized for COPD. The week before on a Friday I spent 8 hours in the ER with a COPD attack. I bought
a pack of smokes on the way home. The next day I threw away what remained on the pack. I put on the nicoderm patch at 3:15 PM.
Five days later I was back in the hospital this time for 8 days. Even in the hospital the doctors kept the patch on. They just ordered them
with my normal morning meds. I can still remember wanting to smoke even while attached to all the tubes and IV's. Itis now 21 months
later. I have for the most part become a non smoker. There are time when the old "pang" hits, but it passes quickly. Stopping really help
my SOB. I have also been actively exercising. My insurance would not pay for rehab but I have gotten info from various sources and
done my own work. I am not saying that stopping smoking is easy. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. It is the worst drug
known to man to break from. Worse even than heroin. I used the three step patch. I had started the process before my major COPD
attack that left me hospitalized for 8 days. During that time, I "crashed" and had to be brought back due to infection in my lungs.
Even during all this the hospital kept the patch on me. Even dispensed it with my other drugs. After 3 weeks or so I lost the "habit
pattern" of reaching for a smoke. After two months I started to lose the addictive pattern with the help of the patches. After 4 months
I started to BELIEVE that I was a non smoker. I attended Smokers Anonymous which helped a great deal. It has helped not to do
this alone. Its now 21 months. I have become a non-smoker in thinking and action. I am one who believes this is a serious addition, not
a habit. I have (I hope) not turned into a preacher. Some of my friends still smoke but the longer I am smoke free the more I am
separated from these friends. Today I have a way of life that works. Although my COPD has worsened it has not deterred me from
living today as healthy as I can. I guess I could write this up in a technical sense, but I believe that this addition can only be overcome
in a personal way for each individual. By the way, I have read much of what you have put into the mail list and on your web site. Until
now I have been busy closing my business and not had the time to thank you for your "work" and sharing. Good luck with getting smoke
cessation information. If I can be of assistance drop me a line anytime.
.

12. Darelene Reitz .................Burgaw, NC.

.
I was a 1 1/2 pack smoker for about 16 years or more when I started developing the symptoms of my disease. The doctors could not
figure out for 6 months what was wrong with me. I continued to get worse and knew that I needed to quit smoking because it was getting
harder and harder to breath. I had kept on trying and trying but could never seem to make it. My family doctor one day had told me about
the Nicoderm patches just coming out. So I decided to give them a try. He gave me a 2 week sample supply of them which included a book
with very helpful hints in dealing with not smoking anymore. One thing that helped me is that after he gave me the patches I decided that I
would pick a day to quit smoking. My last cigarette was January 22, 1992 at 11:00 p.m. After that one I went to the garbage can and tore
up and threw away the rest then I cleaned up all the ash trays and stored them up. After that I went to bed. The next morning I put on my
first patch and started that day on in quitting. I went right by the book. I drank things with a straw. I gave up coffee for months because it
was always the thing to have a cigarette with a cup of coffee. I put helpful little notes all over the house to remind me not to smoke and why.
I also put notes in my car on top of the ash tray. I went through the whole program and quit and did not have anymore cigarettes. My
doctor told me that I was the first patient in his office to use the patches. I really do recommend them. My lung disease was primary
pulmonary hypertension. I would have had the disease weather I smoked or not. I had a double lung transplant July 9th, 1994.
.

13. Allan Shepherd...............New Orleans, LA.

.
I smoked for 22 years. My wife and kids did not know for the largest part of this time. I was brought up on a tobacco farm, not actually
but my grandfather owned one, and I helped harvest the crop annually. I obviously grew up around cigarettes. Both of my parents
smoked as does my sister. When I finally quit, on Christmas Day 1996, I was ill. I had not been diagnosed but I knew something was
wrong. I did not go to the doctor for another 7 months and when I did I could not breath and was told I was a year to two away from
death. I was disabled and referred to Custer for possible transplant. That eventually led to my being tx'd 10 months having first going to
the doctor in July 1997. To be perfectly honest, there are times, even now, that I smell a cigarette and would kill for one. There are other
times that I almost have to throw up when I smell one. Can' t explain the difference but so far I have refrained and plan to continue to do
so. I might add that the doctors told me that smoking did not cause my illness or disease but it did not help, either. I hope this is beneficial
to your efforts. For the record, I live in New Orleans, LA but was raised in the mountains of NC and in northwest FL.
Allan Shuford tx'd 5/8/97 Ochsner #63
.

14. Judith Amerman ...............Terre Haute, In.

.
I'm hardly the model for Smoke Stoppers but I don't mind sharing my story. Altogether I suppose I smoked an average of two packs
a day for 37 years. Started at 16 thinking it was "cool" and the only people in my life who didn't smoke where my two grandmothers.
I was diagnosed in 1990 with asthman and in 1988 with COPD. I quit smoking every night, just to light a cigarette first thing in the
morning. I quit so many times it's ridiculous to even talk about it. Did the whole bit. Seminars, Smoke Stoppers, my doctor even put
me on a Caters patch (for blood pressure) before the nicotine patches came out. I fell in love with the Nicorette gum and chewed it so
fast I got hiccoughs. Got real good at smoking and chewing at the same time, too. Been there, done that. Cold turkey stressed me out
to the point that I would wind up in ER in respiratory distress. Finally, I just simply couldn't smoke and breathe too and I refused to be
one of these people on oxygen who shut their oxygen off to have a cigarette. I did it the way everyone says you can't. I would go just
as long as I possibly could (until the eyes crossed, vision blurred and focusing was out of the question) then I would light a cigarette -
not smoke all of it, just enough to stop the symptoms. I kept doing that until I got down to 3 cigarettes a day, then stopped. That was 5
years ago and I haven't had one since. Can't say there haven't been times when I didn't or don't want one but I wouldn't go through that
again for anything. Several factors lead to my disease - living on a farm (dust, mold, pollen) my mother raised chickens (good source,
ammonia, dust, dander, feathers) my grandfather, father, my sister and I all have (had) the same problem but all doctors unanimously agree
that smoking was the largest contributor and had I quit earlier I may not have had to have the transplant. Maybe, maybe not but I'm sure
glad I don't smoke anymore.>>>>>>>>Judy in Terre Haute
.

15. Sally Streight

.
Some things one can do to help are really quite simple--even silly. Some are expensive and useful only to a few people. I tried hypnosis
but it didn't work for either me or my husband. Aversion techniques were popular at the time (1985), but seemed too gross to us. There
were no patches or gum at the time. I quit smoking after I gave my life to Jesus. I understood that He would give me the strength to quit
if I asked "ask and you shall receive," our Savior promised. I chewed gum and talked a lot and put signs around the house reminding
myself that I was no longer 'a smoker,' and I enjoyed thinking of myself as a nonsmoker. It made me feel like one of the smarter people.
The last thing I ever wanted to be thought of was dim or not-too-bright or (God forbid) stupid. I indulged myself with fancy coffees
(lived in Seattle at the time) and took long walks and bike rides as often as possible. I have never been diagnosed with COPD, but I
found that I could barely swim the short distance from our dock to the bouy where we moored our sailboat, whereas I had once been
a very strong swimmer. It scared me that I couldn't swim the length of the YMCA pool. I had taken up SCUBA diving and learned a
lot about breathing and atmospheric pressure, etc. It made me tired to carry all my gear down the beach to he water's edge. Mostly,
though, I didn't want to disappoint Jesus, who had given His life for me. I prayed wherever I went and hung around with nonsmokers
more than smokers. I got my teeth cleaned. I had all the drapes in the house cleaned and either washed or sent to the cleaners all my
clothes. I took an exercise class in the neighborhood pool and scrubbed the overhead and all the interior surfaces in our boat. I painted
all the rooms in the house and washed windows, knicknacks, and the chandelier in the dining room. And I prayed everywhere I went and
'as needed.' I won! My husband, on the other hand, refused to quit and is now on 24 hr oxygen, etc., etc. However, one day his doc
told him not to bother to come in again unless he quit smoking, so he finished the last cigarette in his package and quit. He was so sick, I
think it was not too hard. But, I helped. I put a star sticker on each day of a large wall calendar for each day he didn't smoke (used a
heart sticker on Valentines) until we had 6 months filled with stars of all colors. Every single day had a star on it. He never had another
cigarette after the last one in January 1991. He is still alive only because he was able to stop smoking and has now written 6 books,
experienced the love of 3 grandchildren, and discovered the peace of Christ. He is 80 years old now and I am 59. Love keeps us
going. The list has helped us a lot. People are so creative and hopeful, it makes me proud of them. Someday there will be a way to
reverse all this damage. In the meantime, prayer is the best and most powerful medicine we have. We can lift each other up with
prayer. I have committed to pray for all who wish to quit smoking. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing.
.

16. Carol M

.
I had made up my mind that at the time my husband got the transplant I would QUIT. I waited for 5 days and then used the patch.
It was not easy by any means. I had to travel each week driving alone from tx. center to home and work for 10 weeks. When
I had done it the first time I was amazed. After a couple of weeks I had broken out in a rash in various areas of the body. I had
recalled reading if a rash broke don't put patch on. So four days later I realized what I read had meant if the rash was where the
patch was not just a rash like I had. I attribute the rash to nerves and it wasn't where the patch was. So I figured if I could go 4
days without the patch - let's see what happens. I put the 1st patch on February 20, 1997. So far so good. That is not to say I
wouldn't about kill for one some days. I still deep breath and remind myself daily "I can DO IT". My health doesn't seem to have
changed any except I cough no more. I have gained about 22 lbs. My primary care doctor says that's ok because I am still not
smoking. He claims the crave will probably not go completely away. I find sometimes that I am dragging on a cigarette and I'll
look around (like even a car in the next lane) and the other person is lighting up. I sure can't smell it if I am in one car with windows
up and the a/c running. Must be a reminder for me. Absolutely not smoking. I still marvel that I have made it this far. I marvel daily
that it has worked for me. It gives me the courage to say to others that they can do it because if I could they can. I had smoked
41 years and average 2 packs per day.
.

17. Bob Beardon

.
When I stopped, I went to a non smoking meeting. It was probably hypnosis, but after the meeting I would look at that weed and say
"Who is bigger and smarter, me or you?" I answered and said "me." And that was it! That's over ten years ago. BUT STILL, 44
YEARS TO LATE. BUT, I HAD A GOOD TIME GETTING IN THIS CONDITION, SO NOW I HAVE TO PAY THE PIPER.
I have not smoked since.
.

18. Ethel Malvik

.
At Smokenders, we were told that we were about to lose our best friends. Cigarettes were there for me at times when I felt deserted
by everyone and everything else. They were there at the worst times. All it took was a little money and you could transport your
comfort with you, like a baby's bottle. You could buy them just about anywhere and, if that failed, there was always someone you could
grub from. The friendliest people on planes were in the smoking section and the friendliest people in restaurants were sitting at the bar,
smoking. No one ever refused you a cigarett if you asked for it. You could linger over a cocktail without reaching for the bread. And
you could order coffee and sit and talk for a half hour or more. Smokers were always happy to sit and talk when everyone else was in
a hurry to leave. For all these reasons, I find it hard to hate cigarettes and smokers now. How can I hate th people who gave me so
much pleasure over so many years? How can I give them dirty looks or try to legislate them out of existence? I'm sick as a result of
smoking, but not everyone is. I HAD to give up cigarettes; not everyone has to. I cried for the last 2 weeks of the Smokenders program. EVERYTHING made me cry. Why not? I was losing my best friend and I had to say good-bye.
.

...............

19. Paul Brooks

.
My name is Paul and I'm a EX smoker. How did I quite is simple. (not really) In "94" I had complete respiratory Failure, spent 21
days in I C U at major hospital in Tampa Fl. Had a heart attack the following day. Was in major trouble. Had a Dr. that the LORD
had put there for me. Had never met the doctor before, but not is a major part of my family. I am a very lucky person. I'm like some
other Ex smokers, I have the urge some times but not the desire. Smoke makes me sick. My kids and one sister can not understand
that because I smoked for 43 years, At the end I was 4 + pack day smoker. That was for about 13 years or so. I did not have a habit
it was an addiction. Smoking cost me my health and life. But when your 8 years old, your don't think about life 40 years down the
road. the old saying " it can't happen to me " isn't in effect at that age.
.

20. Elizabeth kurowski

.
Re: Having quit smoking! First, I will say that I did not want to quit, and I resented doing so because I loved smoking cigarettes.
My husband pushed me to try and quit, and I must admit I didn't try very hard. His method to quit smoking was to gradually cut
down. He got me down from 2-1/2 packs to 10 cigs a day. That's about where I refused to quit further. I couldn't give up my wake
up cigarette and cup of coffee. When I wanted a cigarette, I wanted it...When Emphysema hit me full blast and I couldn't breathe,
that is when I finally pushed myself to give it up completely. Because of my husband's method, I was able to do without any more
cigarettes. Why? because his method taught my body to slowly get away from the nicotine and tars that were infiltrating my body
which caused me to desire those cigarettes. It was more important to breathe than smoke that cigarette. This is the only reason
I quit smoking! I don't expect my story to make or help anyone to quit. That is their decision to make and do. I wish them luck!
.

21. Kathryn Flynn ..

.
I started smoking at the age of 13 and quickly accelerated to two packs of cigarettes a day. My father smoked and two out of three of
my brothers, so it wasn't very actively discouraged. I continued to smoke through college and through my masters in lung cancer. I
tried quitting once in graduate school and I made it for six months or so but used the pressures of life as an excuse to continue. Finally,
at 26, My husband and I both decided to quit together. I think a smoke free and supportive environment is neccesary. No one smoked
at my work, a cancer research lab, so that made it easy. At 29 we both had a one month relapse but by then I could really feel how
bad the smoking was for me, although I thought it was just a bad cold. About one month after this smoking relapse I was told I needed
a lung transplant and was put on supplemental oxygen for the next eight years until I had a transplant. There a million excuses not to quit
smoking. We did both put on weight and then we both took the weight off through an increase in moderate exercise. Smoking is not
worth the price you pay. My mother died at 59 (she never smoked but was exposed to secondhand smoke) of pneumonia. She had
emphysema. My father died at 69, confined to a wheelchair, on 5 liters of oxygen and still puffing away between the coughing fits that
would wrack his body. A certain amount of damage from smoking is reversible. The earlier you quit the better. Please give yourself
a chance to live a longer and healthier life. You don't need any fancy devices, just a firm decision to quit. Pick a day and "just do it."
Good luck.
.

22...Ezia Panzera..................Geneva

.
On December 8 1995 I had broncho-pneumonia for the second time that year, wasn't feeling well and told my doctor I'd see him some
other time. He didn't like it and said he would ask a SOS doctor to come by in the course of the evening (in Geneva, SOS doctors
and Medicines sans Frontiers are emergency doctors you can call any time and they will assist you, in the absence of your own doctor
or when he isn't available). Said doctor came and decided I should go to hospital but I felt that things had improve over night, if not ....
December 9 wasn't any better I felt like dying and when my godson came for a visit (luckily) I go hospital. He did and while he was
gone I couldn't resist to light a cigarette asked him to get me some medication so I could make through the day, not wanting to and had
perhaps 3 puffs, then.... That was between 8 and 9 a.m. on December 9, 1995. On December 14 I woke up in the ICU of the
University Hospital. What happened was that when my godson came back with some medication he found me almost unconscious
and immediately took care of the situation. Apparently, the ambulance he had called and a doctor decided to head for the nearest clinic
where they did not have the appropriate equipment so they rushed me off the UH as above. In doing so the hose feeding me 02 was
torn off and my godson who noticed shouted for help (and was banned from the scene for noticing carelessness.) A doctor had to
proceed with reanimation which took some 15' and I must have arrived at the UH DOA. Not quite because I woke up on the 14th.
I was released on December 30, without knowing exactly what was the matter. The following months were difficult and again I
couldn't get an accurate outline on what happened. Then I had that pneumothorax the following November as I said in a previous
post. Today my quality of life let me not complain as, had I had more willpower, I would not be in this situation. Just wanted you
to know that I have no merit whatsoever for having stopped smoking. It was real horrible and this should show you that you can stop,
you people couldn't be as stupid as I was, that simply doesn't exist. Before you grab another cigarette think of this. Needless to say
that I haven't smoked since that 9th December 95.
.

23. John Kurowski

.
I smoked almost 50 years and was smoking 2-3/4 packs a day. Would have liked to quit but never could get myself to do so. One day
I got dizzy and found myself on the floor. Doctor suggested I quit and take stress tests. Out of shape but I decided to try. I couldn't
give it up completely and didn't want any gimmicks. Went several hours before and after the stress test without a cigarette because I had
to. I decided to stretch the time between cogs as best I could. The morning cigarette was the hard one so I had to work hard on that
by having it after I got out of bed and the coffee was made. Even then I waited until I could sit down with that cup of coffee. I kept
putting that next cigarette off. Eventually I got down to 3 cigs a day. They had to be after a meal, or with a cup of coffee. It took a lot
of will power to get down to one a day, then every other day, 2 days, etc. It was hard, but I always told myself I could have that
cigarette after supper with a good cup of coffee. Eventually it got to 5 days between cigarettes. I then quit cold. it worked! My
spacing of cigarettes allowed my body to slowly accustom itself to less and less of the tar and nicotine that it carved. Funny because
no one thought I would ever quit. I was the guy always with a cigarette in his mouth all day long. Occasionally think about it, but why
go back! Hope this helps someone....
..

24. George Jargon

.
I was a smoker for 44 years and had assumed in the last 10 years that I had lung cancer and why quit, might as well enjoy smoking.
Only after I continued having bronchitis did I finally decide to consult a Dr. After x-rays determined I did Not have lung cancer, I said
I'm quiting and haven't had a cigarette since. What I did was put cigarettes all over the house, in the car, in the motor home, just
anyplace I would be to see if I would be tempted but I never picked up another one. Now unfortunately I had emphysema and that
is what collapsed my lung twice a couple years later. It was also responsible for disabling me 1 1/2 years later. Now my wife has to
completely care for me. after having to be taken to the emergency room so many times my doctor decided to recommend me to
EMORY University Hospital for evaluation for transplant. I was evaluated, and placed on list. On June 9th, 1998 I was
transplanted. I am breathing very good now, and can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. If smokers knew how I suffered and
what my wife has gone thru I think there would be less smokers. that is my story.
.

25. Veneta Clarida

.
I didn't write about my cigarette dying but one of my grandaughters and I had a funeral for one I found that I hid in the linen closet after I
had quit. I had forgotten about hiding it. This was before I had really made up my mind to quit ...........I used the linen closet to
rat hole a cigarette in case I had a nicotine fit. I made a tombstone out of a block of wood and I dug a hole in my flower bed in the back
yard and buried that cigarette. On the tombstone I wrote "Last Cigarette" born:( the date) and a vow to God that she would never start
smoking. Just thought I would share that with you all. Now I have to figure out how to send this to everyone.
Veneta Joyce Clarida passed on Wednesday, April 12, 2000

26. Jack Peterson

.
I smoked two packs a day for 45 years. That's NINETY PACK-YEARS, to use the units the pulmonologist like. They start getting nervous when they find out you've got ten pack-years (a pack a day for ten years.) Hah! Quitting was probably the hardest thing I ever did, but I had
a lot of practice. I tried everything for about five years before I did, finally, QUIT! I used the Nicorette gum, the patches, hypnosis,
acupuncture, and the Schick Shock Shack approach (what ever happened to them, anyway?) The point is not only that you CAN do it, but
that you MUST do it. No one else can do it for you, though; you've got to do it yourself. When you get the urge, just say to yourself, "It's
a matter of life or breath!" because it truly is...Good luck, because you'll need some of THAT too.
.

27. David Connelly

.
I quit the awful habit almost 15 years ago. If I could anyone can. For years the "smoke days" were a big laugh to me, I was invincible,
those nails will never bother me. On a vacation in Europe, I became ill with bronchitis in London. MDs in London make a little cash
treating tourists at the hotels, rather than line up in a clinic in the UK National Health System, I asked the Maitre de to get me a doctor
When he came and examined me he told my wife and I that I was a "fool" to smoke, and if I continued I would have about 8-10 years
of life ahead of me, but "what could you expect from an Irishman." Even though I was a 8th generation American to this London MD
I was the "Irishman." Well, I was so angry, I said nothing and quit that night. Even left a full carton of my favorites for the room service
cleaners. A few years later I wrote the London Dr a letter and told him I had quit and thanked him for the advise delivered to impress.
He wrote back and said that he had to shock some people into quitting, he was glad I took his advice. We can all quit, keep trying everyone.
.

28. Harold Sweeny

.
I am 62 (yesterday) was a 4 to 5 pack a day smoker. Had 12 heart attacks quintuple bypass twice- prostate cancer- lung cancer resulting
from asbestos , wood dust, etc. Even after heart surgery I still smoked. Finally quit 3 1/2 years ago when the lung cancer was found. I can
verify that quitting smoking is more difficult than stopping Heroin or cocaine addiction. It finally came down to my asking myself "what
would I give up to improve my life". Secondary smoke hurt my wife too. I have suffered all the possible side effects of radiation & chemo
as well as COPD meds and I'm still here ! My COPD resulted from an accidental overdose of radiation ( radiation burn) but it still is
COPD. Since this disease is progressive anything that will enhance or prolong the quality of your life should be explored. When I started
smoking cigarettes were 13¢ a pack. Now they are $1.95 a pack here on the island where we live. My wife is happy now that she is sure
the smoking is over. She deserves that since she is the one who will be left with the clean up when I do go. Right now we have 3 cancer
support groups which we started. I chair two or more AA meeting weekly & sit with cancer patients as they die, so I am too busy to die
at the present time. You are in our prayers now. Just don't quit 5 minutes before the miracle !! Do, or do not. There is no try
Live each day as if it were the last day of your life, because so far, it is.
.

29. Charoltte Holt

.
My husband is the one with COPD, and that is why we started using this support list, but he does'nt type fast, so he calls on me for that,
mainly. However, I smoked for about 10 yrs, and had a bad allergy attack and they said a little asthma, while I was in San Antonio with mydaughter at a cancer treatment center( she died from ovarian Cancer at age 38.) also, my daddy died from throat cancer, at age 66,
and now my husband has severe emphysema at age 55, and has had for over 8 yrs. Well, when I left the emergency room that day,
feeling pretty good after a couple of breathing treatments, I threw my cigarettes in the trash at the door of the hospital, and have never
smoked another one. I can honestly say it was not that hard either. My husband says it a whole lot to make me mad anyway, but I can
guarantee each and every one of you I cannot express my hatred toward cigarettes enough. I do believe if anyone can get mad enough at
them, and consider the time and quality of their life, they can quit easier. I have never been as mad or hated anything more than I do
cigarettes, and what they can do to people and their families. I hate to admit that I let something 2 inches long control as much of my life
as they did, but they did, but when I saw the light, I REALLY saw it bright. It was like it screamed at me, and that was it. Over and done
with!!! I know people are different and to each their own, but I think a lot of the "programs" out there just continue to let you smoke for
reason or another, whether it is to cut down or taper off or what ever. I have not smoked since that day and it has been over 9 yrs. ago,
and if anything, my hatred get's stronger everyday. It could be because my husband is now going through all this, and can't quit the
cigarettes, but whatever the reason, I'm glad I hate them more and more every day! He tapers off and then slows down, but all the time
he is still smoking, and therein lies the problem. You either smoke or you don't. I don't believe the speed of it has much to do with the real
problem. If this changes anyone's attitude about smoking, and if you can just learn to hate them, as much as you think you love them, you
can quit too. If your driving 90 miles an hour and have'nt had a wreck yet, do you really believe you can continue to do that, just because
you like to? I hope not. I don't want to sound ugly, but I would do anything to help one more person to stop the insanity! GET MAD,
Absolutely! One more thing I didn't mention, I have a grandson, 24 yrs. old, with bladder cancer, and they say that's from smoking.
Already had one surgery, and will have to have 3 mo. check ups for the rest of his life. He quit smoking for about a week right after
his first surgery, but his wife said she couldn't stand the pressure so he started back. There are some things that even grandmothers
shouldn't voice their opinions on. At least not very loudly, but you know what I did!
.

30. Joan B. Eichrodt

.
Depression is very common among quitters. The way to beat it, IMO, is to understand WHY you are depressed (there are good
physiological reasons for it) and what you can do to counter it (beyond giving yourself pep talks). Now, as you apparently know, nicotine
(like cocaine) stimulates the production of dopamine and norepenephrine -- the pleasure-giving neurotransmitters. (Forget serotonin,
which is the "calming" one, and which is not really involved in nicotine addiction.) In real addicts like you and me, it also stimulates the
multiplication of "nicotine receptors". They are now very hungry, and demanding their dopamine dose. As a matter of fact, your brain
has been so over stimulated, and become so accustomed to getting its dopamine from nicotine, that it may not be able to produce a
proper amount on its own any more. That is why you are depressed. (Personally, I never got "depressed" when quitting -- just "crazy"
with irritability & nervousness.) What to do? It's just as well that you can't take Zyban, which is the only anti-depressant that stimulates
the production specifically of dopamine and norepenephrine (unlike Prozac, for example, which targets serotonin). It's a powerful
medicine, with potentially very harmful side effects. Someone who is already taking a truckful of medications should probably steer
clear of it, IMO. (I tried it once -- had no effect on me at all.) Nicorette is an excellent good idea (although chewing it is not all that
great for your teeth, I have to say). I use it. I still could not do without it. Maybe I will have to spend the rest of my life chewing it.
Some of us may need that "maintenance" dose (smokers' methadone) forever. Still beats smoking! And much better than the patch,
because you can pop a Nicorette whenever you get stuck in a situation that makes you want to smoke, or are in a bad/depressed mood, whatever. My next recommendation is this: exercise! Specifically, aerobic exercise! Hop on that stationary bike, or wave your arms
around, or whatever, when you feel blue. Not just because it is "good" for you. But because aerobic exercise stimulates the production
of -- dopamine and norepenephrine!! Better get your fix from exercise than from some heavy duty antidepressant, says I. I am quite
serious, however. Exercise works. An added psychological benefit from it is the knowledge that this source of dopamine will dry up if
you go back to smoking (because you won't be fit enough to exercise). At this point, I would like to share something with you. Like
yourself, I have made many efforts to quit, and never got beyond a few months abstinence. I am now going into my third month of
another attempt at abstinence. But this time I am SURE I have quit for good. It is because I had an "epiphany" (a revelation) a
couple of weeks ago. I was sitting at my dining room table, paying bills (not my favorite occupation). I was coughing -- yet
another bronchial infection! -- and getting out of shape again, since I could not exercise. Under normal circumstances, I would have
been feeling at least a little bit grouchy. Instead, this incredible sensation of well-being suddenly swept over me. A feeling of -- well --
happiness, of enjoyment (of what??? paying bills??). What was going on here? Was I, in my old age, falling into the manic phrase of
a manic-depressive psychosis? No. Absurd. Then what was it? Then it came to me: I WAS NOT SMOKING!! It was then that
I realized that for all its much touted anti-depressant effects, smoking is actually DEPRESSING!! (As against pure nicotine.) The
slavery to it is DEPRESSING! The effect on one's mind & body is DEBILITATING! Whee, I am FREE! That was not just a
fleeting moment of insight; my good mood still endures (even though my infection has endured too, dogblast it). After all these years,
I finally know what the "joy of living" means. No way I am going to spoil it by sucking that crap into my lungs again even if it means
chomping on Nicorette -- ugh!-- forever, and all my teeth fall out. I hope that if you hang in there, and get through the dark night of
post-smoking depression, you will experience something similar.
Joan E.
.

31. Cecil.........................

.
I quit smoking on the 4th of Mar 1998 at 10:30 PM. I remember the date and time exactly because I died with a cigarette in my hand. It
started a few days before when I got to the point where I couldn't breath and so weak I couldn't even get out of bed. I went to the VA
Hospital ER and they told me that the carbon dioxide level had built up to the point that there was nothing they could do to lower the level.
I came home and went to bed, I told my wife that I was done and there would be no more cigarettes. I did manage to quit for two days and
being the genius that I am I figured my levels had lowered and one more wouldn't hurt. When I lit it I took one puff, inhaled and went into respiratory failure. I was extremely lucky my daughter happened to be visiting and she is a CNA. She gave me CPR until the ambulance
arrived. I have not smoked another cigarette since and I keep an unopened pack and lighter on my nightstand as a reminder. As my DR
explained it to me when you are smoking a certain amount of carbon dioxide is retained in your system, very minuscule, but over the years
it can build up to the point to where it overrides the oxygen level. That's when you get into serious trouble because there is no way carbon
dioxide can be removed from your system, other than normal breathing functions. More carbon dioxide, less oxygen, no time for normal
expulsion to balance levels, serious trouble. This is my story, for what its worth, I don't know if you can use it or not,because it has no
impact unless your the corpse. Take care Cecil
.

32. Shirley Stephenson SC

.
When I thought I was grown at age 21, I began smoking to fit in with everybody else. Forty-two years later I still LOVED to smoke. I would
defy anybody who tried to tell me that tobacco was addicting, habit forming, psychological, physiological, whatever all those things were that people tried to tell me about smoking. Like most of us in this program, I chose to smoke because I LOVED it even though I knew it was bad
for my health, causing a shortage of breath, reducing my active life, living in denial, etc. In short, life was moving in the very slow lane and I was sacrificing more and more in order to keep smoking. I was a public school teacher and always called on another teacher to teach my class
about smoking. You would think that I should have known that I wasn't hiding anything from those kids, but again, old denial sets in when
Mr. Tobacco has control. My deliverance from smoking came after many failed attempts to quit. I was tricked time and time again by Mr. Tobacco into believing that I could not quit this lifelong habit, in spite of consistently feeling bad. My failed attempts consisted of so many
tricks and games I tried to play on myself, as well as advice that I got from other successful quitters. I finally succeeded two years ago,
May, 1997, when I went to my doctor and told him that I was so tired of failing in my attempts to quit, and he gave me these most
encouraging words: "You have not failed as long as you are trying". Those were the magic words for me because I just couldn't seem to
get over the fear of failure. What a victory when you can say that you are a Smoker No More.
.

33. Betty J Brown

.
I prayed about it before I ever started as I do about everything. I think god knew that I would never find a good time to quit so I found
myself in the middle of the floor and could not breathe. I had a real bad case of the flu. I smoked my last cigarette on the way to ER. I
have lost my Mother, Father and oldest sister to smoking, I said I was quitting first of all for me but I would also quit for them because
they were never able to. I was a very heavy smoker, 4 packs a day. I started when I was 13 and I quit 4 yrs ago. I am 60 now. I have
severe Copd. I am positive I would not be here today had I not quit. These cravings only last a few minutes and by taking real deep
breaths it really helps. I didn't use the patches or gum. I used sugar free peppermint drops. I still use them now. Everyone needs to
face up to and make the choice STOP SMOKING OR DIE ! Sounds cruel but it is very true. No one enjoyed smoking more than
I did, but I know that I will never smoke again because I can't smoke and breathe at the same time. Hope this will help someone . Brtty Brown .

34. Peggy McGee Maness

.
My brother died of nasopharynx cancer in 1982 and he smoked unfiltered Chesterfields until three days before his death. He wanted to die
at home, so I went to help his wife care for him. He was 6'2", though he only weighed 105 when he died at age 56. You would think that
would have told me something, but it did not. I kept smoking. In 1983, at age 56, my husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer caused
by smoking. The night before his surgery, he threw his cigarettes in the trash and never looked back. I thought "How can he do that?" The
cancer scared the cigarettes out of him; that is how he did it. In the meantime, I continued smoking. I knew my second hand smoke was
putting my husband at risk for more cancer. For the next two years, while trying to stop, I smoked like a criminal - in the yard, in the
garage, in the car. I smoked freely at work as most of my co-workers did, not the slightest bit concerned about what I was doing to
the non-smokers there. It took four different times for me to succeed. I smoked less and less each time. When I finally got down to 3
cigarettes a day, I thought if I could not do it then - I never would. My doctor gave me a prescription for nicorette gum and told me if I
just had to have nicotine I should chew the gum instead, but I would become addicted to the gum. Before I got the gum, I could not
stand the thought of not having cigarettes in the house and available to me. I do not know what I thought would happen, but expected a
"nicotine fit", I guess. At any rate, just knowing I had the gum on hand got me through the initial stop smoking period. I never chewed any
of it, but I knew it was there if I needed it. Stop day was 26 September 1985, my grandson's first birthday. Some of the problems I
encountered were: What do I do with my hands? I used to hold a cigarette in my fingers; what do I hold now? I finally settled on those
small cigarette holders - empty of course. I put them in my mouth, too. Because that was another problem. What do I put in my mouth? I
had smoked for 35 years. What do I do when I first get up in the morning? What do I do right before I go to bed at night? What do I
do right after meals; before I even get up from the table? What do I do when I take a break? I decided to cook and eat breakfast first
thing in the morning. Not that I couldn't smoke and cook at the same time; I could and usually did. But I tried to stay focused on the
cooking and cleaning of the meal. I had been a walker for years (though I could smoke and walk at the same time, too). I walked
after meals whenever possible. I read myself to sleep and I ate too much. And I gained 20 pounds, which was still better for me than
smoking. Keeping my hands busy helped. I worked in the flower beds usually with water or things that would have made it difficult to
smoke at the same time. I played solitaire. I gave myself manicures; I whistled, sang and did everything I could think of to keep my
hands and mouth busy. I marked the days off on the calendar by sticking a gold star on each smoke free day. Did that for a month.
It was recognition and a reward I gave myself. Two years later, in 1987, I would still think unconsciously "When I get through with
this vacuum cleaner, I am going to sit down and smoke a cigarette and relax." Then I would think "No, I am not because I
do not smoke." And that has made all the difference. Did I miss them? Yes, I did. Would I smoke one now? Not on your tintype.
In 1991, after complaining of shortness of breath when walking at a brisk pace, my internist diagnosed me as having "dyspnea". He
could find nothing else. By 1994, he was calling it copd and saying if I got worse I should go to a pulmonologist, which I did in 1997.
In 1998 I had lung cancer and had the lower left lobe of my lung removed. So far, there has been no recurrence. Do I wish I had
never smoked? Yes, I do wish that. Do I hate myself for having smoked? No, I do not. Today is today. I normally do not think of it
at all. I really have other things to do.
Peggy McGee Maness
.

35. Ralph Bayes

.
I quite about 4 years ago. I felt better the very next day. It took care of the cough I had. People will try to help when you make an effort.
I was hard headed and wouldn't give them up. It came to smoking or breathing and I wasn't so hard headed after all. I had the help of
GOD thru it all. When I wanted one I would pray. I don't dare what that governor up there say's about religion being a crutch. I will take a
crutch any day compared to hells fire. May GOD bless.
Ralph E. at Monticello, Arkansas
.

36. Aleta Smith

.
I could not breathe more than short little gasps of air last December, went to emergency room and they hospitalized me for 6 days and
sent me home on oxygen for the rest of my life. My doctor put me on Zyban (Wellbutrin) which I had tried before but didn't take
seriously, plus I could not smoke in the hospital. It was the first time in forty some years that I had gone more than a half day without
smoking. Considering that for the last 10 years I was a chain smoker, I knew I could never go 6 days without smoking again unless I
went back in the hospital, so I decided I didn't want to do the first 6 days ever again. Anyway, I have slipped a few times (I have lit up
and mostly just watched the smoke) but I do not have to smoke anymore and I attribute it to the Wellbutrin and, MOSTLY, to the six
day hospital stay. Some smokers just need to be locked up in order to quit, and I wish it had happened 10 years ago when I first
started going downhill, and when I might still have been able to get well. Hope you are feeling better. Take care. Aleta
P.S. My doctor informs me that some insurance companies will not pay for Zyban but will pay if the prescription is for Wellbutrin
since it is really an antidepressant. (Someone noticed that patients using Wellbutrin were giving up their cigarettes, so the drug
company started marketing it as Zyban.)
..

37. Evelyn Prieto

.
I hope my experience can help in some way. I smoked for 47 years, and stopped 20 years ago.
1. I forced myself to see great clouds of black exhaust fumes every time I lit up.
2. I knew I had emphysema and HAD to stop soon
3. I kept hearing as in a radio in my head my sister-in-law saying "it was
the easiest thing I ever did" - also after over 40 years of smoking.
4. I got a bad bronchitis, woke up in the morning and said This is it. I
knew I would never smoke again - something had clicked, finally.
5. I never did smoke again. And I found that anything with peanuts,
peanut butter, etc., was a soothing substitute when the need came.
6. I had heard that the urge lasted for not more than a minute and a half, and it did work for me.
I held out - with tablespoons of peanut butter! A lovely feeling in the mouth that really soothed the nasty feeling left by wanting that filthy
SMOKE! (though I used to say I'll never talk bad about cigarettes!) I certainly do now, because I felt better and stopped coughing a
few weeks after I stopped! I wish all of you trying to quit the best of luck. IT CAN BE DONE.
Evelyn Prieto
.

38. Camille Anderson de Garcia

...
I wanted to quit smoking long before I actually tried to quit. Cigarettes had become a filthy habit that was controlling me, my health and my self-esteem.   I was simply afraid to try because there is so much talk of how terrible it is to quit smoking. Even though I no longer enjoyed smoking, after almost 30 years of 2 packs a day, and I knew my health was suffering from smoking, I feared the pain of withdrawal,
nervousness and all the other symptoms I had heard so much about. I also feared failure of attempting to quit and not being able to pull
it off. So one day when I was coughing a lot and really disgusted with myself, I thought that maybe I could stop smoking for just one day
with no commitment to stopping forever. I decided to have my last cigarette before going to bed that night and for 24 hours I would try
not to smoke. I did not throw away my cigarettes, nor did I tell anyone about my plan. I used no gums, patches, nor medication of any type.   Although I am not a terribly religous person, I do believe in the power of prayer, and I did a lot of praying and meditation before coming up
with my plan. The first day I was somewhat nervous, but my prayers for a strong will must have worked, because I was able to withstand
the temptation. At the end of 24 hours, I was so jumpy that I was not sure whether or not my cough had decreased, but I convinced myself
that it had. So I renewed my vow for another 24 hours. Well, to make a long story short, I continued renewing my vow, 24 hours at a
time, for a week. After that, I proudly made the announcement that I had quit smoking. The nonsmokers of my family and friends were
very proud of me and very supportive. The smokers, however, treated me like a traitor. It has been 7 years since I last smoked.   In
summary, my ''quit smoking one day at a time'' method requires strong motivation, lots of prayer, and lots of will power.
Camille in Mexico
..

39. Freddie Holder

.
That there were something I could share with others who may still be smoking that would help in their endeavors to cease. Before I quit I
had tried on numerous occasions and the saddest part of my story is, thirty years ago I did quit, to pick it back up after a year. I picked
one up and lit it just because I wondered what one would taste like after that long. Now, I wonder that I could have been that stupid I
never dreamed of the emphysema, it was the horror of developing cancer that continued to make me think I should quit. And then the
shortness of breath began and still COPD was not on my mind. It wasn't that I was not a well educated person when it came to all the
things that could happen to you when you smoke. How it not only effects your heart and your lungs but every other part of your body. It
was that old, not me, syndrome. I finally after much confusion and many years am diagnosed with emphysema. But the nicotine has such
a hold on me that moronically I continue to, light up. Nothing tasted as good as a cigarette, nothing. I am still working and trying to
pretend that the only reason I have stopped at a certain place (because of my shortest of breath) is because I just thought it was a good
place to stop....whoa! I am pushing my body further and further as I flick that Bic. I have friends who smoke and they are great friends,
my husband smokes and he is a great guy, my daughter smokes and you couldn't ask for a better daughter. See all the reasons I have to
smoke. I could just go on and on. Except that I am now down to 102 lb. and I am 5 ft. 8 in. tall and used to weight a size 12, one
hundred and thirty five. Pneumonia hits me hard. My doctor wants me in the hospital. BUT you can't smoke in a hospital! I say, let
me stay at home and try first. My doctor shakes his head, but he cannot force me into a hospital. He writes out all the prescriptions and
I go home. I remember smoking that cigarette and coughing and then trying to make it