Is 2009 Your Year To Quit Smoking?

By Julie Henry, NBC17, 1 day, 11 hours ago
Updated: Jan. 1 7:11 pm
RALEIGH, N.C. -

Whether or not you choose to make New Year’s resolutions, a new year provides a good opportunity to change health behaviors. La-vern Robinson of Raleigh is hoping 2009 is her lucky year as well.

Robinson quit smoking four months ago, but it was a long time in coming. She’d been a smoker for almost 30 years since starting in her teens.

“That’s just like letting go of a marriage, a lover, a best friend,” she said. “And thinking about what life would be like without that friend and that lover can be devastating.”

Like most smokers, Robinson had tried to quit before, but found she couldn’t do it on her own. A former drug user, Robinson knows all about addiction, and said nicotine was just another drug to her.

She found the support she needed at UNC Hospital’s Nicotine Dependence Program.

“We like people to understand that they’re not the only ones who have trouble making a huge change in lifestyle,” said Carol Ripley Moffitt, program manager. “And for many people, even after they’ve quit, they’ll say, this was the hardest thing I’ve ever done

Learning to ask for help and depending on other people for support are critical to success in quitting smoking, said Moffitt.

“Most people didn’t start out smoking alone,” she said. “So why try to quit by yourself?”

Moffitt suggests some other tips to be successful in quitting smoking:

*Pick a date to “quit” and commit to it.
*Decide how not smoking will benefit you individually – living longer, being around to see grandchildren grow up, etc.
*Identify your “triggers” for smoking – after meals, in the car, etc.
*Practice before the actual quit day -try not smoking in the car or in your house for the week before you quit. That helps you develop strategies for avoiding cigarettes.
*Change the environment – get rid of ashtrays, wash curtains, clean out the car
*If smoking is a stress reliever for you, look for other ways to relieve stress – like exercise, nutrition, talking to a friend, or writing in a journal

Free advice is available from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week through Quitline NC 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).

To find out more about quitting smoking, what to look for in a program, and medications available to help you quit, visit the American Cancer Society website.

Find out more about UNC’s Nicotine Dependence Program at its website.

Source: http://wake.mync.com/site/wake/Lifestyles/story/23305

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