A family member of mine finally stopped smoking at age 49. He started out as many do, just casually picked up the habit while he was in high school and then at work, where he was a mechanic in a small midwestern town. He was no different than the thousand other people who lived around him in his extremely rural upbringing. The smoking culture was very strong, especially among lesser educated, blue collar workers such as himself.
Over the years, the relatives from the city would give him and a few other family members a hard time about their smoking habit. This relative in particular would just nod his head and say with his country draw, "Yep, I should stop." But once he drove back to the country, the addiction and behavior were too strong to overcome. But finally he came to a crossroads. His children were growing up and following in his footsteps. He, like many other hardworking Americans, wanted a better life for his children and was afraid they might make the same mistakes he had made - one of which was smoking.
So, try and try he did, as began the long road to smoking cessation. He tried quitting cold turkey and then used the nicotine patch. His comment about the patch was pretty funny. He said he would put 2, 3 sometimes 4 patches on his body and he'd still crave a cigarette. He told me that if he could have, he might have even tried lighting one up and smoking it, just to see if that would help. (Side note - do not try that at home, he was only joking). But that's just how his addiction worked. It doesn't mean the patch is bad, it just isn't for everybody. He needed something else.
Finally, a few years later he did what he was supposed to do. He saw his doctor and talked about his nicotine addiction and his previous relapse. He and his physician then came up with a comprehensive plan to quit cigarettes once and for all. That plan included Chantix, of all things. That's right, the one touted as the best, but watch out for those mind tingling side-effects. Once he started the program, he never looked back. He finally quit smoking after 32 years. Today, after two years of using the Chantix, he says that he doesn't miss them and kicks himself for not quitting sooner.
I asked him if he had any bazaar dreams or weird/eccentric feelings while taking the Chantix. He said that he remembered his dreams more routinely while taking the Chantix, but nothing too crazy happened. Now, you can't get him to stop talking about how he quit smoking. He is a new man, with a completely different future than what he had two years ago. Before he left to go back home, he told me what I've been telling my patients for years. He said that he just finally got tired of smoking and wanted to stop. And that was what propelled him to finally quit.
You see, it's not always the method or the medication that helps you stop. Those are just tools to help you stick to your decision. It always seems to come down to that decision. I've never met a patient who ever told me they quit smoking by accident - they were always just ready to finally call it quits.
So did the Chantix make him quit? No, not really. He made himself quit. Armed with the previous experience and information he got from his doctor, he was able to facilitate hisdecisionwith a method that suited him and his addiction.
