I want to give up smoking! - ShowMe South Africa (2024)

Text byKim Jones, Photographs byNeil Mackenzie Matthews. Source: This article was taken from theJanuary 2011 issue of Essentials Magazine.

Louise Fraser, 31, a single mom of two, knew it was time to stub out her unhealthy habit.

We challenged her to go cold turkey and stop in four weeks…

Louise says…

My daughter Kenidee, 12, is now about the same age as I was when I tried my first cigarette and, although she’s completely anti-smoking (she’s learnt about the health risks at school and always tells me she hates seeing me with a cigarette), I still wanted to be a better role model for her.

My son Aaron, 3, was also starting to notice… every time I ventured into the garden for a puff, he’d call me back in, saying: ‘Don’t do that, Mommy, I don’t like it!’

Add to that the fact that I’m a single parent and I felt I owed it to my kids to look after my health better – there really was no reason to keep puffing away. It was going to be tough. I’d smoked 20 a day, on and off, since I was 14, but I owed it to my children – and myself – to make the change.

Week One

Here we go!

I told my friends and family I was givingup, so I’d feel ashamed if I failed! I also said I’d donate the money I normally spent on cigarettes to a charity for six months. I wanted to help my friend’s daughter who has a life-threatening brain tumour.I decided to go cold turkey at first and stocked up on boiled sweets to keep my mouth busy (yes, recipe for disaster on the waistline front, but a girl’s got to have some enjoyment!). And, instead of a cigarette and coffee for breakfast, I started eating fruit and cereal… now that’s got to be healthier!

Admittedly, I was more irritable than usual, but at work (I’m a contracts manager) I had to curb my snappiness. There were several birthdays and lots of cakes doing the rounds, which helped calm me! And I needed to drink lots of water to ease the headaches I was getting.

My worst point was when Aaron went into a temper in a shop and sent me flying. I scrambled up from the floor, picking up the contents of my bag and felt like chewing on a cigarette to calm my nerves! Now where had I put those strawberry bonbons? Bonbons? Anyone…?

Week 2

Breaking the habit

Nicotine leaves the body after three or sodays, so I could celebrate that my body wasfree of it! The children were on schoolholidays, so I took time off to be with them,but I needed to keep busy to keep my mindoff you-know-what.

We went to movies,and normally I’d bewaiting for the endso I could escapefor a cigarette! Thistime I made do withpopcorn… andenjoyed the film.Kenidee said shewas glad I didn’thave to sneak outhalfway through.

It was nice to concentrate on having fun with the kids – and a shock to realise my days used to revolve around when I could squeeze in my next smoke. Remarkably, I didn’t seem to have any real craving for nicotine. It was the habit of having a cigarette in my hand that I seemed to be missing.

Fingers itching, I decided to redecorate the lounge (as you do!) and next up was the dining room. My house was also tidier than ever. Instead of my normal cigarette just before bed, I whizzed round picking up toys and sorting out school uniforms. I was at risk of becoming too organised! I also had a sudden urge to change my hair colour and switched from blonde to brunette. Friends told me it’s a psychological thing – a way of leaving the old ‘smoking’ me behind and starting afresh… ooh, that’s deep!

With her new-found energy, Louise finds tackling her massive lawn a breeze.

Week three

Uh-oh!

Things weren’t looking good – I’d put on3kg thanks to the sweets and my skin was pimply. A friend told me it was a good sign; the toxins in my body were leaving. Hmm… shame they didn’t leave via another route!But why wasn’t I salivating every time I saw someone smoking? If anything, the smell of smoke was starting to turn my stomach. I was clearing out my wardrobe (keeping busy, again) and I noticed my clothes were smoky – that’s how I must have smelt! After a month, I’d saved R800 for charity.

Habits are hard to break – and I still associated certain things and times of day with having a cigarette. Every time the phone rang at home, for example, I found myself, for a split second, wondering where my cigarettes were because I’d normally have a smoke in the garden while chatting to a friend on the phone. The urge to keep busy hadn’t disappeared. I felt I had the energy (could be the healthy breakfasts) to tackle the garden at last and was delighted to find I could do it without huffing and puffing. Could I be getting fitter?

My willpower was tested when I had some friends over for a bottle of wine. My right hand felt empty without a cigarette, but a few breadsticks did the trick just as well.

The wedding at the weekend was a real revelation. Normally, I’d be outside smoking for most of the night. Instead, I was bopping to my heart’s content and catching up with non-smoking friends. I was beginning to think smokers miss out on all the fun…

‘I was feeling fitter –and my taste budshave improved’

Week Four

Breaking away…I knew it was make or break this week

when I went away with colleagues for a team-building event at a hotel. The wine was flowing freely one night and I got very drunk! I’m ashamed to say I sneaked out to join a group of smokers outside and asked for a cigarette. Thankfully, they talked me out of it, but it was a sobering thought the following morning to think that had someone caved in and given me one, I’d have smoked it… It made me more determined than ever to stick to my guns.

On a positive note, I was feeling fitter – running around after Aaron was getting easier – and my taste buds seemed to have improved, too. I was really enjoying the taste of food whereas before I think I used to eat without tasting. Coffee smells and tastes delicious doesn’t it? I joined a gym so I could spend my lunch hour there rather than smoking outside and I was generally feeling very good about myself.

According to the research, my risk of having a heart attack is halved after quitting for a year and I’d already cut my risk of developing lung and other cancers.

Kenidee SMSed me this week (it’s how kids communicate these days) and said, ‘You look much healthier and act differently, too. I enjoy time with you more than I did before. I kept telling you smoking’s bad for you. I’m so glad you’ve given up!’ We had a little chat afterwards and she told me she had been worried I was going to die from smoking. I’ll never go back to it now. I owe it to my family – and myself.

Louise’s, top tips:

Stock up on your favourite sweets and keep them handy for when you have a craving. Think about dieting later on…

Keep busy. At quiet times, I foundplaying games on my cellphone agreat distraction as well as reading books.

Change your habits. At times you would usually smoke (after a meal/when you get home) go for a walk or make a phone call.

Tell everyone you’re giving up. The more people who know, the harder it will be to succumb to that sneaky puff.

When you’re struggling, remember why you’re doing it… for your children, for your health, for your favourite charity?

Keep a diary or a blog and record all your efforts. Looking back over it will inspire you and help keep you going.

HELP TO BEAT YOUR SMOKING HABIT

See your local GP and ask for various options such as Zyban or the electronic cigarette.

Visit Againstsmoking.co.za for facts, tips and advice as well as other useful links, or call the national quit line on 011 7203145.

Smokenders is an independent, professional organisation that helps smokers stop through a series of meetings. Call 011 784 7838 or visit www.smokenders.co.za for more info.