MARTY DITTRICH

“I’ll quit smoking when they pry my cigarettes from my cold, dead hands”.  That was the battle cry my wife and I had for years.  There seemed to be safety in numbers, and our addition would be better protected if we teamed up.  I started smoking when I was 11 yrs old.  I’m not sure when Ann started, but we both smoked until we retired.  Sure we heard all the complaints, especially from our own children, who to this day never smoked.  We listened to people make comments about 2nd hand smoke.  We saw for ourselves the nicotine stains on the walls in the house, not to mention the disgusting odor, but we were strong and united.  To quell all the “know it alls” the answer was easy, we just smoked outside.  There was no body to offend outside, except GOD, and he never said a word. 

As Ann and I grew older together, even we knew are smoking days were closing in on us.  Laws were passed, taxes were increased, more people had stopped smoking then ever before.  We had heard the stories how smokers had quit after smoking for many years.  Sure it was hard they said, but the rewards were great.  The secret of there success was that most people found a reason why they should STOP smoking, instead of reasons why they should CONTINUE to smoke.  Some good reasons were for health, some because of the cost, others for there families, and others because it’s just the right thing to do.  I discovered that it wasn’t because of the reason, but that you had a reason to stop. 

Ann and I tried to think of reasons to stop.  It was hard, our addition to nicotine controlled out lives.  Every time we would think of a reason to stop, the little guy who smokes in our head told us that reason wouldn’t work.  We couldn’t stop for our kids.  Our kids had grown up, moved out, had kids of there own, and still never smoked.  We couldn’t stop for our parents; they were already dead from smoking related cancers.  So we decided to stop just for us, and to save money for vacation. 

We were in our mid 50’s when we first attempted to stop.  We signed up for classes, and attended our 1st class.  We felt uneasy as we entered the classroom.  Other 1st time classmates would look at us, and we would give each other a nervous smile.  We all knew that we came to stop our addictive demon, but yet we all seemed uneasy.  Could there be something we were afraid of?   What could the reason be?  It certainly couldn’t be to quit smoking.  We had already found our reason to stop, and we were committed because we were there.  There must be something else.  I found out that I was afraid of failure.  And failure had trumped my reason to be there. 

After only 6 weeks of both Ann, and I being on the PATCH, we through in the towel and admitted we were powerless against our addictive demon.  Back then, you only got 1 shot per year to try and stop smoking.  We took our shot, and failed.  Since people with addictions hang out with other people with addictions, it was easy for Ann and me to join the ranks of full fledged smokers again.  We now had a new battle cry.  “We tried, and the patch failed US.”  Ann never tried to stop smoking again.  She died at age 61 from Lung Cancer.  That’s such a horrible disease.  If I looked closely, I could almost see her disappearing, right before my eyes.  As for me, I now had other reasons to stop, and after 5 additional attempts I finally succeeded.  The smoking programs of today are better organized and more PEOPLE FRIENDLY.       Gone are the sterile rooms with the one on one interrogation.  The tools that are offered to help you stop smoking are far more advanced, and the support is 2nd to none.  I’m not going to tell you it’s a walk in the park.  Everyone is different, and what works for one, may not work for another.  BUT, I am here to tell you that you can do it.  This is not brain surgery, it won’t hurt, but it will change your life.  The path starts with YOU.  You need to go to your 1st meeting and from there its little steps, one after another.  “But what if I find it to hard and fail”?  Well, that’s where the support comes in.  As long as you go to your meetings, someone will be there to help you get back on track.  Let’s be honest, I tried to quit smoking so many times, I called myself “a professional quitter”.  They were there for me, and they will be there for you.  Now get up, and call.  I’ll look for you at the next class.