Lafayette woman kicks smoking habit

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Molly Brown lit up her first cigarette at the age of 18, and continued to smoke for nearly two decades.

"I just picked it up and never could kick the habit," she said.

Brown, who puffed a pack a day, said she smoked as soon as she got up, in the car, throughout the day at work, and when she got home.  It was an all day routine.  She said she tried to give up cigarettes many times.

"I would quit for a few days here and there. And then you would go somewhere that reminded you of smoking and it would be, I'll just have one cigarette. And that'll be ok. I'll just have one but I won't have anymore. And I just can't do that. I've found it's just like an addiction. I can't just have just one," she explained.

For her, cold turkey just didn't work.  But turkey dinner last Thanksgiving convinced her to kick the habit.

" When I went home, my mother told me she had to start chemotherapy again for ovarian cancer," said Brown.

The reminder of her family history of cancer helped her think more about her health.  So, she made a decision to "work to quit."  She gradually gave up smoking, by taking it in steps.

" So I stopped at work first. Then I stopped here at home, after a few months. And then I stopped smoking in the car. And by the time I had stopped smoking here and in the car, and at work, there weren't
many places left," she said. 

Brown has not lit up since July, and already sees benefits of a few months of smoke-free lungs.

"I definitely feel healthier, I feel like I can breathe better. You definitely smell better in terms of not having that cigarette smoke in all your clothes," she said.

She encourages others who want to kick the habit to seek resources for help, find what works for them, and take it one step at a time.

If you'd like help with quitting, click the links below:

1800quitnow.cancer.gov

www.cancer.org/Smokeout

www.indianatobaccoquitline.net

www.tobaccofreetippecanoe.org