No buts: New stop smoking group offers help to those who are quitting or have quit

Stop Smoking Sessions
When: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1
Where: Shalom Baptist Church, 1215 Roberts Road S.W., Hutchinson
Speaker: Dr. Guy Casper, a local provider of chiropractic medical services
Admission: There’s no charge to participate and the public is welcome.
Call: Cindy Smith, coordinator, at (320) 234-6265 or e-mail Smith at cj51smith@yahoocom

It’s not easy to humble yourself, but that’s exactly what Cindy Smith did when she asked the women in her Tuesday morning Leader Study Group at Shalom Baptist Church in Hutchinson to help her quit smoking.

“I told this group of girls, ‘I’ve been a smoker for 30 years and I can’t handle it anymore. I can’t keep smoking,’” she said.

The catalyst for Smith was physical problems that led to a stress test. After completing the test, Smith returned home and turned on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” on TV. In what can only be described as a serendipitous moment, the day’s program featured Dr. Mehmet Oz and the subject: quitting smoking, and interestingly enough, the audience was made up of people who had smoked for 15 years or longer.

The idea of quitting smoking wasn’t new for Smith. In the past, she had tried nicotine patches and Zyban, a prescription medication designed to help smokers quit more easily, but neither had worked for her.

“I knew a year ago I had to quit,” she said. “My throat constantly hurt so bad and I couldn’t breathe. I smoked myself sick. It had to get to that point to be able to quit.” Feeling helpless, Smith prayed. I prayed so much for God’s help,” she said.

Smith said she never imagined that God would play such an important role in helping her quit. She believed it was through his grace that she was able to go to her friends at Shalom and open what she described as a “Pandora’s box” and share her smoking problem. The response to her admission was wholesale support.

Once committed to quitting and fully supported by her friends, she went from a pack-a-day Marlboro Lights habit to five cigarettes the first week and three the next. After that it was cold turkey — no smoking. Smith also used Chantix, a non-nicotine prescription medicine specifically developed to help adults quit smoking.

“Smith believes God was able to give her the right steps to follow to quit smoking. "People shouldn’t be afraid to go to church and ask for help,” she said.

To read more, see today's print edition of the Hutchinson Leader, Tuesday, March 25, 2008.

(Kay Johnson is a staff writer at the Hutchinson Leader. She can be reached at johnson@hutchinsonleader.com)