Quitting Tobacco: Eilis’s Story
Shared with
permission from
Eilis Mooney
Quitting cigarettes was one of the most difficult, yet important, things I have ever done. I can’t express how glad I am to be a non-smoker, and free from the ball and chain of smoking! I encourage everyone who wants to stop to at least try!
I grew up in the 70’s. Smoking was everywhere. Ads on TV and radio, magazines and cigarette dispensing machines were a common site in many community buildings and public spaces. Back then a pack of cigarettes was around .35 cents! My dad was a smoker, my mom hated it. Dad smoked in the house but mostly downstairs in the family room. Sometimes we would go into the store to get him cigarettes. Back in those days you could say you were buying for mom and dad. My friends and I started stealing smokes from our parents and smoking them in the woods.
In high school we had a smoking area. By freshman year I was a regular smoker. Several cigarettes a day and a pack when I could afford it. Working as I got older, my cigarette smoking increased, as I could now afford them. Back then they didn’t cost as much as now. Fast forward 30 years and I was a pack a day smoker. Completely addicted to them, I was trapped by my habit. I tried stopping several times and managed to stop for a year. Life happens and stress got the best of me. What started as a “drag here and there” turned back into my old habit.
In 2017 I really wanted to stop smoking. I had made some other major lifestyle changes, and giving up smoking was a key piece still left to deal with. I hated being a slave to Big Tobacco and the idea that I “have to have a cigarette”. I knew most of the things available hadn’t worked (I tried several) and I went to my doctor for more options. Chantix was what really worked. My doctor prescribed the starter pack, and I decided that I was just going to take them, and not say anything about “quitting”. No pressure on myself. By the end of the first pack, I didn’t want to smoke! I asked my doctor for an extra pack of the medicine to not start craving and pick up smoking again. I never finished it and have not smoked in 7 years.
Chantix has some weird side effects for some people. I had very colorful dreams, but it worked for me. The longer I took it, the more smoking lost its appeal. I would recommend trying it to anyone who struggles with trying to quit. At first, I felt a little lightheaded. I attributed this to the extra oxygen I was getting. All the chemicals in cigarettes are noticeable when they are no longer being inhaled! I also chewed cinnamon gum for the first few months after I stopped (I still chew gum, but now it’s Trident Sour). Life is still stressful (of course) but my go-to is no longer a bad habit. I have good friends to help me when I need to vent, and some of them still smoke. It smells so bad now I don’t like smelling it. That’s great, just the way I want it to stay. I find creative processes to help alleviate stress and I am truly grateful to be a non-smoker.
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For more information on the free resources available to help you on your own quit journey, visit our Resource Hub.
BPHC is incredibly greatful to Eilis for her willingness and vulnerability to share her story so that it could help others on their quit journey. If you live or work in Burlington and have a quit story you would be willing to share with us, please reach out to us by email at info@burlingtonpartnership.org.