My dad is a laid-back guy. Reasonable, logical, slow to anger. The one thing that makes him crazy is cigarettes.
When I was a teenager I came home from being out with friends. When dad hugged me, he smelled someone else’s cigarette smoke on me. The look on his face is one of the main things that kept me from ever smoking.
Cigarettes have touched my family for the worse. Three of my four grandparents had their last years shortened or made worse from their unbreakable addiction to nicotine. My dad’s dad was in his forties when he died of ‘”lung problems”, most likely cancer.
Knowing this made my dad’s own lung cancer diagnosis earlier this year a painful irony, since Dad never smoked. (He’s fully recovered now.)
I think our worst brush with cigarette addition was my dear mother-in-law died from an accidental house fire she started with a cigarette. It’s been six years since she’s been gone and it still hurts like hell.
I share this with you to tell you about a new smoking cessation program available at Walmart.
Their new “Blueprint to Quit” program can help you or a smoker you love overcome the physical addition to nicotine and overcome the psychological or emotional cravings for nicotine.
The program uses the two-pronged approach of nicotine replacement therapy and behavioral support.
Quitting smoking has been said to be as difficult as quitting heroin. It can take multiple attempts to kick the habit for life.
And that’s really why you should try again if you’ve failed before: for life.
This post is sponsored through Mom Bloggers Club, but I would have written it for nothing if it helps one person quit smoking.
I grew up in a smoking household. Anything that helps people quit is a good thing. Okay, not taking up heroine instead, but you know what I mean.
It’s funny how people worry about gaining weight. I get it, but ten pounds won’t burn the house down.
I loved this post. My Aunt is on her 3rd try of kicking her habit, and we’re all rooting for her. She’s had so many health issues that correlate with her smoking, and I think this time around, she’s going to do it.
I hope she can kick it, Amiyrah. Quitting smoking is the best gift you can give your family or yourself.
I grew up in a house of smokers, but it never attracted me. Smelly. My daughter tried once, but concluded it was ‘gross’. PHEW!!! My dad died of cancer a few years back and since them smoking is like a four-letter word in our house.
Brenda, after my father-in-law died last Christmas from lung cancer, it was a kick in the teeth to have my dad’s diagnosis in February. Dad never smoked! Luckily, removing part of his lung seems to have taken care of it.
Anne – I don’t know if I told you at BlogHer, but my private blog was in response to my mom’s recent (in May 2012) lung cancer stage IV diagnosis. She’s responding super well to the chemo, which is great, but she also NEVER smoked and was super healthy. Worse yet, the doctors got our hopes up saying that there’s a special mutation that Asian women of her age are prone to getting that is responsive to Tarceva, a relatively non-invasive chemo drug that would prolong her life with high odds. Turns out she didn’t have it so now she’s on super strong chemo that makes her weak. Anyway, that said, she’s doing amazingly and we’re hoping for a long/happy life while she’s here 🙂
Anyway, that said, I think it’s great to spread awareness about smoking = increased risk for lung cancer. Hope you’re well!
(Your Colorado Gaysian from BlogHer 🙂