I Can’t Smoke! Now What?

Get support from colleagues and use these tips

Little tricks to quit

When Cindy Buervenich (left) craved a cigarette and her colleague Cindy Thomas wasn’t available to offer support, she used tips from the Tobacco Treatment Program. She wrote in a journal, had a piece of sugar-free candy and even jogged in place until the craving passed.

After smoking for more than 40 years, the last thing Cindy Buervenich needed as she tried to quit was work-related tension. A stress-relieving ball helped a little, but not as much as her colleague Cindy Thomas. “She made signs that said ‘I am a nonsmoker’ and ‘Kiss me, I don’t smoke’ and hung them around my cubicle,” says Buervenich, a Lehigh Valley Physician Group insurance representative.

Thomas, an information services analyst and former smoker, knows quitting isn’t easy. That’s why she helped her friend prepare for Jan. 1, 2007—the day smoking was no longer permitted on hospital property. “We went for walks during lunch to get her mind off smoking,” Thomas says. They even went on an overnight shopping trip, and Thomas paid for a nonsmoking hotel room. “I encouraged her to use the money she saved on cigarettes to buy things for herself,” Thomas says.

Whether you’re trying to quit smoking or just trying to get through the workday without lighting up, psychiatrist Laurence Karper, M.D., says support from colleagues is important. “Without nicotine, people experience withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, increased appetite, irritability, fatigue and lack of concentration,” he says.

If you’re tying to quit or haven’t yet made the decision to do so, here’s how to avoid these symptoms:

• Sign up for our Tobacco Treatment Program.
• Use nicotine replacement products, like the patch or gum, which you’ll get free through the Tobacco Treatment Program.
• When cravings hit, take deep breaths, drink water or practice mindfulness techniques that help you focus on things other than smoking.
  

If you work with a colleague experiencing withdrawal symptoms:

• Be sympathetic. He’s dealing with an addiction.
• Go for a walk with him during break time. Exercise lowers anxiety.
• Understand that quitting smoking is difficult and your colleague may seem frustrated and irritable at times. However, it doesn’t give him the right to be rude or not do his job.

For Buervenich, the Tobacco Treatment Program, Thomas’ support and her determination to succeed paid off. “I haven’t smoked in nearly one year,” she says. “When I walk into work, I enjoy the smell of freshly baked cookies from the nearby General Mills plant. I never noticed it when I smoked.”

Want to Know More? To schedule an appointment or to find out more information, call 610-402-CARE (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday).

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