It has been said that nicotine is a more addictive drug than heroin and even harder to stop using.
Rachel Hoey grew up in a home with a father who smoked.
It was the mid-1980s and cigarettes were very accessible to kids. Her dad would often send her down to the local store to pick up a pack of smokes for him.
Hoey was 11 years old when she started smoking.
“I had a school friend who was the one who got me going. Kids are curious at that age and want to try something. In those days everyone smoked,” she said.
Because of being raised in a smoke-filled home, and having smoked herself for 28 years, Hoey developed bronchial asthma.
“Three years ago I woke up and realized I couldn’t even breathe getting myself dressed in the morning and that I was just killing myself, so I said enough is enough. Not that I wanted to quit, because I did not want to. I just knew I had to at that point,” she explained.
The first thing she did was to seek help from her doctor, who prescribed treatment to aid her in her battle to quit smoking.
She also remembered a client of hers, who had quit a few months before and had told her that she was now smoking again because she had thought she could just have one.
“So I held on to that right away going in. I thought, I’m not going to let that one little stick get me, as tempting as it can be. As soon as I would be tempted I would direct my thinking elsewhere. As soon as I would get a craving I would say, nope, and instantly set my sights on something else.”
Hoey had another idea also that helped her keep her resolve. She knew her father, who had quit smoking himself after a serious health scare, still carried the guilt that his daughter smoked. For a birthday surprise she said,
“I went out and bought a real sappy father-daughter card…and at the bottom I put, by the way I’m 47 days smoke free. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said that’s the best birthday present ever!”
Now after being smoke-free for nearly three years, Hoey describes how she feels.
“I feel 100 per cent better as far as my breathing goes. I’ve got a lot more energy and my thinking is not so foggy. The biggest key for me was being able to breathe. For me breathing is my new drug. I’m proud of myself. It’s a huge accomplishment in my life.
She also notices changes in attitudes when it comes to smoking.
“Now smokers are frowned upon by society and in some ways you would feel like an outcast. I know just before I quit I felt like hiding. I’ve also noticed over the years that less and less kids are starting. Now you very rarely see big clusters of kids standing around smoking,” she said.
Her solution for a smoke free world is simple.
“Just stop making them, period.”
In a matter of a few decades, through education and tough new laws, we have gone from seeing people smoke in restaurants, offices and even hospitals to not being able to smoke in public spaces, indoors or out. Summerland has recently passed a bylaw prohibiting smoking at local beaches.
If you want to join the 85 per cent of British Columbians who are non-smokers, help is available. Go to www.quitnow.ca or to www.health.gov.bc.ca.
If you know a positive story about someone in our community, contact Carla McLeod at carlamcleod@shaw.ca or contact the Summerland Review newsroom at 250-494-5406.
