I was quoted again about tobacco cessation, this time appearing on and online article on WebMD.  click to view

Stopping smoking was one of the toughest, and most rewarding, things I have ever done for my recovery. I sobered up in 1993 and could not stop smoking until 1999.  Like some really smart people have told me:  “It takes what it takes.”

One of the things that was really helpful for me was to have been actively involved in a substance abuse recovery program.   It gave me a lot of tools to use and heightened my own level of disparity and disgust with what I was doing to my body by continuing to smoke.

Along the same lines, I was working for a treatment center that went tobacco-free.  As part of that, I was required to take a class to teach the clients how to stop smoking and then teach them the same material.  That was a difficult set of mental gymnastics that I had to perform to continue smoking, especially when personal consistency between words and actions is such a huge part of staying clean and sober.

There were a number of other factors that collectively made it a good time for me to stop smoking.  If you want to learn more about that, or think that you may want to try stopping, give me a call at (256) 885-5193