I am an ex-smoker. Wow! I never thought I would be able to say those words. I never thought I would quit smoking. As an educated woman, I was afraid of cancer and heart disease, but not afraid enough to quit. I wanted to quit but I didn't want to have deal with the withdrawal and most of all, I did not want to gain weight. Just like losing weight, there is no magical cure. Aids such as pills, gum and therapies will help if you are ready to quit. The key word here is ready. You simply have to make up your mind.
One day, a friend said she had quit. And just like that, I decided I would too. I quit six months before my heart attack. I was ready. I made up my mind. When you make up your mind, you can do anything you want to accomplish.
As an educated woman, I saw two co-workers from two different jobs die from smoking. One woman I knew ended up with a disfigured face after surgery. Why didn't I quit then? Looking back and remembering this, I wonder what I could say or do to help others quit smoking? One thing I could say is that quitting was much more of a monster in my mind than it actually was. Also, home from the hospital and recovering, I watched a lot of television. A counselor from the Dr. Drew celebrity Rehabilitation show said, "How long do we continue to use drugs to avoid three weeks of withdrawal." I think he said it all.