When it was announced that the price of cigarettes were rising again, Cindy Losier knew she had had enough; it was time to quit. “Five of my co-workers all planned to quit on the day cigarette prices were going up. I quit along with them, they eventually went back to smoking – I did not.”
Losier instinctively knew that quitting would present challenges and decided the best course of action was to employ specific strategies that would help support her new smoke-free life. Initially, for the first 6 months of her quit journey, she kept several packs of cigarettes in her freezer. This helped her to build will-power and to adjust to regularly seeing, but not using them. This exposure method allowed her to begin to associate cigarettes as something she used in the past and not something that was part of her new life. Next, she took up gardening to stay busy and to be able to spend regular time outside being active. During break times at work, she spent her time doing laps around the building to “get some fresh air” rather than hanging around staff who used their breaks for smoking. In the early days, to combat cravings, she chewed a lot of gum and also enjoyed mints and suckers. Losier soon realized that physical activity greatly helped to support her tobacco-free life, essentially replacing smoking with activity.
Challenges Through the Years
Although a success, Losier’s quit-journey did not come without challenges. Approximately 6 months into her quit-journey she noticed she had gained about 15 to 20 lbs. “I realized I had gained that weight you hear about after quitting smoking and I wanted to do something about it.” By the time she reached a year into quitting, Losier decided she would join a gym to tackle her recent weight gain. Weight lifting and cardio became some of her favourite gym activities, and eventually she began running. She would become passionate about running and go on to run both half and full marathons. Even 17 years later, she still goes to the gym about 5 days per week and adds, “I figured since I was going to be there regularly anyway, I might as well teach some classes” which also helped her with accountability. Losier teaches a weight lifting class called Group Power, as well as a spin class all while still working a full-time job.
Throughout the years, Losier has remained smoke-free, even when challenged by and in the face of big life changes. She continues to turn to alternative coping strategies, such as physical activity in place of smoking. When her father passed away she dealt with her stress through these healthy coping mechanisms. On the day of his funeral, she first went to the gym to deal with the stress of the day. Exercise has been the single most effective coping strategy throughout her entire quit-journey and the secret to her long-term success.
Strategies Towards Long-Term Success
If you or someone you know is thinking about quitting, Cindy has some great tips to consider:
- First, be sure you are ready to quit. “Don’t just try it because someone told you should. You have to be done with it on a personal level first.”
- Make a plan for your quit journey. Ask yourself what you are going to do to combat cravings, lifestyle changes and how to deal with stress without tobacco use.
- Reward yourself. Cindy took the weekly amount of money she’d usually spend on cigarettes and stored it in a jar. At the end of each year she would buy herself a special gift (leather jacket, gold chain) which positively reinforced all her efforts.
- Surround yourself with like-minded people. Remaining smoke-free is easier when you avoid triggering situations where smoking is common. Cindy spent more time with people who enjoyed physical activity which included tobacco-free living
- Identify alternative coping mechanisms for dealing with stress. Healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress and life challenges such as fitness and regular exercise helped Cindy stay on track long-term.
Photos and story used with permission.
Published in April 2022.
Written by Kristin Farnam, NBATC Manager.