WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Evelyn Howie, 68, loves the way her house smells these days, but what she loves even more is why it smells so good.
"It was addictive, just so addictive," said Howie, of her 44-year smoking habit. "I feel so empowered and have such a sense of freedom. I knew it was time and I'm so glad I did it."
Howie first started smoking in her first year of college because she thought it was glamorous. A few cigarettes every now and then became a crutch.
"I smoked when I was happy, when I was sad or bored. I tried everything I could think of to quit, cold turkey, the patches," Howie said.
Her turning point came when she visited her son and his new, young family. "I had rented a car and tried to get the smell of smoke out of there, but even with all my spray, you could still smell it," she laughed. "My son basically laid down the law and told me he really wanted me to stop smoking so I could be around for my grandbabies. So I decided it truly was time."
Howie enrolled in a six-week smoking cessation class at Novant Health taught by licensed counselor Paula Swindle and hasn't picked up a cigarette since. That was three years ago.
"Our class focuses not just on the physical withdrawal of nicotine and the symptoms to expect, but how to deal with being emotionally hooked on it," said Swindle. "I encourage my patients to look at it like a wave. Imagine you're standing on the shore watching a wave come in. Very soon that wave will go back out, just like a craving. Cravings last anywhere from three to five minutes and they just have to make it through that craving."
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