Kicking the habit

It took three major attempts at quitting before Chuck McGinty was successful at giving up cigarettes. He's been a nonsmoker for 18 months now.

Statistics show that 70 percent of the nation's 47 million smokers say they want to quit but only 45 percent of them will make the effort and fewer than 3 percent will actually quit.

It usually takes more than one try before a person can actually break their nicotine addiction, health experts say.

And today is the day to quit. The American Cancer Society hopes that nearly 10 million people will stop smoking today as part of the Great American Smokeout.

The one-day event, which asks smokers and tobacco users to smoke less or stop smoking altogether, is designed to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use.

Main Street Fitness Center in Jackson will offer "quit packs" for people who want to try life as a nonsmoker. The kits will have suggestions on how to quit, sugar-free gum, cigarette-length straws and toothpicks for people who feel like they need to have something in their hands or mouth, said Scott Givens, assistant manager at the fitness center.

It helps when people making attempts to quit have a support group and some accountability, Givens said. That's where the smoking cessation classes come in.

Both Southeast Hospital, which owns Main Street Fitness, and St. Francis Medical Center are wrapping up smoking cessation classes.

Almost all the class members have tried quitting before. "Seldom is this the first time," Givens said. "They can get through a month or two, but we put it all together."

The smoking cessation sessions talk about methods for quitting, group support, alternatives to smoking, how to avoid giving in to the cravings and other topics related with smoking.

It took three major attempts before McGinty could stop. His previous tries included hypnosis, nicotine patches and quitting cold turkey. But on March 9, 2001, McGinty finally gave up cigarettes.

"This time I did it with doctor's orders," he said. "He said to quit so I did."

The directive from his physician had a lot to do with his decision, but McGinty said making the break wasn't so bad. He used the strongest series of nicotine patches available, which carried him through a two-month withdrawal.

"I don't even think about cigarettes," he said. "It's not part of my life anymore."

But many people aren't quite so quick to accept the change. The three-week course at St. Francis was more about preparing for the quit date than actually coping through that period. "Some people are just coming in to get motivated," said Bonnie McCulley, who led the sessions.

McCulley tries to get people to realize why they smoke: Is it a nervous habit? Do they smoke while they drive, eat or drink coffee? Does it help them relax?

Nicotine is addictive, but people smoke for other reasons too. "We have to work on the habits and what it means for them," she said. "You have to see yourself as a nonsmoker."

After talking about the health risks associated with smoking, McCulley begins working out a plan with each participant on how to quit. There are plenty of ways to do it: hypnosis, nicotine gum or patches and going cold turkey. Some people choose a slow withdrawal, cutting back to one or two cigarettes a day.

"It's a learning process, nothing really works unless you really want to," she said.

And she should know. McCulley hasn't smoked in six years.

"I can't even remember the day," she said. "I kept trying for a day and it just happened. I finally quit."

McCulley didn't want to smoke at work where she'd have to go outdoors so she learned to make it through the day without a cigarette, but the evenings were her temptation. When she got the urge, she'd breathe in menthol oils and tried to relax.

When she and her husband went away for a golfing weekend in 1996, and both were trying to quit smoking, she knew there would be no cheating. When she didn't pack cigarettes and didn't smoke after a round of golf, McCulley knew she'd kicked her habit.

"I knew I could live without it," she said. "I broke that last association."

Most people who quit for a time or even just a day can eventually stop altogether, she said. "One day is better than nothing."

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126