Anita McLean – an ex-smoker’s story
Anita McLean’s family and friends are of the greatest importance to her. But, it wasn’t until she broke a promise to take her newlywed best friend and husband to the airport after their reception that she realised how much smoking was affecting her health and her relationships.
"If I hadn't smoked as much while celebrating, I wouldn't have
felt as bad as I did and would have been bothered to say goodbye
properly." It was the final straw.
No stranger to quit attempts Anita decided this time was
different.
"Before, someone would annoy me, school was hard, I was taking
on too much responsibility at home and I would be smoking again,"
says Anita. "This time I broke every routine I ever had that was
associated with smoking. I refused to associate myself with the
title 'quitter'; I was a non-smoker."
The hardest part of quitting for Anita was the beginning,
especially socialising.
"But," she says, "these things don't matter because in time you
rebuild your relationships on much healthier grounds."
Anita has seen first hand how smoking can affect health and
happiness. "Many family friends have had partners, parents and
close relatives die from emphysema, heart disease and lung cancer
as a result of smoking. I hold friends as close to my heart as I do
my family; to watch their loved ones go from lives rich with energy
to becoming dependent upon their family and friends is heart
breaking."
Now I wonder: why would anyone pick up a
cigarette knowing it cuts your years in half?
For Anita, health was the ultimate reason to quit smoking. But,
not just her health; the health of her family, her friends, her
future family and the burden she would be on them if she continued
to smoke.
"Smoking is the slowest death there is. I don't know why anyone
would wish it upon themselves and their families," says Anita.
That hasn't always been the case. Knowing the personal
consequences of smoking never had a significant effect until the
last time Anita quit. When she heard the words 'optimistic bias' in
her psychology course, Anita knew this was what she had been
experiencing.
"You know something is bad but you don't truly believe it will
bring anything bad to you. Every smoker is blind to its effects. I
definitely was."
"Now I wonder: why would anyone pick up a cigarette knowing it
cuts your years in half?"
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