32 ~ Sunday, May 24, 1992 - North Shore News

No time like the present

. TWAS a great procrastinator when it came to quitting smoking. I always knew I wanted to do it, but just not at that very moment. The time was never right. ,

I kept putting it off, saying “1'li quit tomorrow.’ Another day ... another week ... another year ... another decade ... the longer I put if off, the harder it

ime.

I always had an excuse. “1°11 quit smoking just as soon as I take my vacation.” *‘I don’t want to spoil my vacation going through withdrawal, i711 quit smoking just as soon as I go back to work.”

And so it went.

I was inclined to focus more on the difficulties of quitting smoking instead of the benefits. The rewards always seemed so abstract to me.

However, now that I have seven smoke-free weeks behind me, I am happy to report the rewards have been overwhelming.

Quit to Win

April 10 to May 31

Starting with my health, what a difference a few weeks can make! Already I’ve noticed that I’m breathing easier, my sinuses have * cleared up, my smoker’s cough is

gone and my chest pains have disappeared. : My energy level has shot way up, and I feel more physically fit. I don’t wheeze when I get up in the morning. I don’t cough when IL laugh. I don't huff and puff after climbing a flight of stairs. My senses of taste and smell have come to life. Food — par- ticularly fruit —- never tasted so good. And I never knew what a

on

By Robyn Brown Contributing Writer

spring rain smelled like until recently.

Next are the financial rewards. Smoking was getting pretty darned expensive. Just in the past seven weeks, I’ve save more than $250 (based on $50 per carton and a pack-a-day habit).

I’ve been putting all my ex- cigarette money into a special ac- count, and by this summer I will have saved enough to buy myself a canoe.

I’ve always wanted to own a

canoe, but, like quitting smoking, I've put it off for years. I thought it seemed appropriate to buy one with the money I save from not smoking. Thus, accomplishing one goal achieves another.

Next are the social benefits of being a nonsmoker. I am part of the nonsmoking majority instead of the smoking minority. When I’m with a gathering of people, I can stay and socialize instead of having to excuse myself to go have a smoke. And I can sit where I want in restaurants and public places.

Another benefit. of quitting smoking is the wonderful sense of freedom. Freedom not to worry if I have enough cigarettes with me. Freedom not to be chained to an ashtray. Freedom not to be a slave to the habit.

A few facts about smoking... ® CIGARETTES ARE HARMFUL.

Cigarette smoking is the major cause of heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Finally, I think the best reward I’ve gotten out of quitting smok- ing is the satisfaction of having contro! in my life — which in turn has given me greater self-respect.

Since making the commitment to participate in the Quit to Win contest, ] am proud to have fina!- ly accomplished a goal that I had been promising myself for a long,

long time.

I finally got around to it and it feels great!

Quitting smoking is one of the hardest things I've ever struggled with, and now that I’m winning the battle, I feel like if I can do this, I can conquer anything.

Anything, perhaps, except con- vincing my dad to quit smoking!

NORTH VANCOUVER CITY LIBRARY

NO FINES © till June 8

121 West 14th Street

Each year, 38,000 Canadians (more than 100 a day) die from the effects of smoking. . When you stop smoking, your body will repair much of the damage caused by the harmful effects.

SMGKING AND PREGNANCY.

Some of the harmful substances in cigarette smoke pass from the mother to the baby through the placenta — nic- otine reduces blood supply by constriction of blood vessels, and carbon monoxide can reduce oxygen supply up to 40%,

Babies of smokers are up to eight ounces smaller at birth. The risk of miscarriage among smokers is almost double. There is a 28% greater risk of stillbirths and deaths dur- ing the first weeks of life.

SMOKING AND FACIAL WRINKLING.

Wrinkling of the skin is more common and occurs at an earlier stage in smokers than nonsmokers. Skin tissue is robbed of the nourishment provided by oxygen from car- bon monoxide in smoke.

Smokers in the 40- to 49-year age group are likely to be as prominently wrinkled as nonsmokers who are 20 years older.

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~— Reprinted from the B.C. Lung Association’s ‘‘7 Days to

Freedom.”

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