Your Resolution? Stop Huffing and Puffing - Start Quitting

Posted December 17, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Alexandra Haller

Section: Her Health, Her Motivation

January 1st is approaching, and with that date comes all sorts of thoughts about the new year and a new you. It’s the symbolic purging of bad habits. It’s the time for a fresh opportunity to try something new or take another chance after a previous faltering. Typical resolutions include a commitment to get to the gym, a promise to finally take up a new class, or a determined effort to walk the dog more. And then there’s the big daddy of all resolutions: to quit smoking.

My grandma quit smoking on one such New Year’s Eve. She had smoked for 38 years. And you know why she finally saw the commitment through? Because of love. Her son (my uncle) was a smoker too, and she hoped that if she could set a positive example, she could empower him to quit as well. Maybe sometimes it’s just easier to do something for someone else than to do it for yourself? At least it worked in my grandma’s situation. She went cold turkey, and at 82 years old she’s still chugging along.

The reality for my grandma (well, for anyone actually) is that you can’t smoke for nearly four decades and get away with it. Your body cannot take repeated abuse without suffering, often in dramatic devastating ways. I talked with my grandma about how smoking affected her body and her life.

Whenever I see her these days, she is usually hooked up to oxygen. But what’s provocative is what I don’t see. She has suffered permanent destruction of the air sacs in her lungs. Can you sense the magnitude of that type of language? Permanent destruction. That means no recovery. It is through the process of breathing that we are able to get oxygen into our bloodstream. Without enough oxygen to the brain, you can suffer a stroke. Not enough to the heart and you have cardiac failure.

Because my grandma’s breathing is severely compromised, so are her activities. She and my granddad used to go square dancing as often as three times a week. Together they would master steps and twists and turns. They’d fashion their own costumes. They nurtured friendships with other couples. Now that chapter is closed. She experiences shortness of breath simply walking across a parking lot. She can’t go shopping without bringing her oxygen tank. In cold weather, she has to close her mouth, and in hot weather, the heat literally takes her breath away.

Perhaps you are reading this article as someone who toys with the idea of quitting. Here are some thoughts to consider. At $6/pack, an everyday smoker will spend nearly $2,200 in one year. A smoker, who buys 3 packs in one week, will still spend nearly $1,000. Do you have bills to pay or want to take a vacation? Heck, forget the money. Do you have loved ones who want you to live a long and healthy life?

This article cannot offer advice about your own best way to quit, but I can urge you to keep quitting. New Year’s Eve is the perfect time for starting fresh, and a wonderful opportunity to say no to another year of smoking, broken promises, and wasted money. Do it for yourself, or do it for someone you love, like my grandma. If she can quit after 38 years, you can quit too.