My earlier post was too abrupt (I had just spoken to Mike’s wife). To topic, the fear of quitting smoking is success, not death. The fear of not getting nicotine causes our addicted brains to dump adrenaline into our system and causes a flight or fight response. We were nearly in a panic at the thought. If you even talk to a smoker about quitting, you can see the withdrawals you are putting them in. Some stop smoking classes even allow smoking until the message to quit has been delivered.
Mike had worked with me for about nine years and we took our smoke breaks together for all but the last two. He had been retired for three years when the doctors found the cancer. After the diagnosis, my wife and I drove an hour and a half to see him. I did not smoke along the way (wife’s car was non-smoking) and I did not want light up in Mike’s driveway as soon as I got there under the circumstances. We went to lunch and Mike was very matter of fact about lung cancer. His doctor told him the usual end game was pneumonia and suffocation. After lunch, I did not run out to the parking lot to smoke, though I was way into withdrawal, but out of respect refrained. We went back to Mike’s house to visit, as we say in the South, and I could feel the familiar trapped cravings. I was glad to leave my friend an hour later, drove two blocks from his house, got out of the car and smoked two straight cigarettes.
I had gone about four hours without a smoke. What was my fear, lung cancer or not getting another cigarette? I was proud I was able to tell Mike I had quit a month after this visit. Do not fear success in quitting.
