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From the back of the pack to no pack

  • Published
  • By Airman Rebekah Phy
  • 305th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, NJ. --  On average, a smoker purchases one pack of cigarettes a day for about $7 a pack. In one month, that person spends about $210 on cigarettes and over 10 years, approximately $25,000 -- an entire year's salary for an Airman (E-2). 

After 12 years of smoking and several attempts to quit, Staff Sgt. Erin Smith, 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron analyst, took the final plunge in October 2005, after her grandmother passed away from emphysema. 

"I started smoking when I was 15," said Sergeant Smith, now 29. "I smoked about a pack to a pack-and-a-half a day, and I loved smoking. A few times, I tried to quit, but I would only last about three to four months before the weight gain (from quitting) really got to me, and I started smoking again." 

"My grandma smoked for 30 years and she didn't get sick until she was 55 years old," Sergeant Smith said. "I moved in with my grandma when I was about 21, and despite her being sick, I still continued to smoke -- even that didn't make me quit." 

"I was there when she died, and I just remember thinking that I didn't want to die like that, I didn't want to go out like that," Sergeant Smith said. "I mean, she died when she was 65 -- I still want to be exercising and running three miles when I'm that age." 

Although her grandma was a big inspiration for her to quit smoking, personal benefits were a motivation as well. 

"My skin was gross -- It was tough and oily, and I was starting to get wrinkles. My hair wouldn't grow, and I was spending a ton of money just to slowly kill myself."
As an Airman, fitness was also a huge reason for Sergeant Smith's decision to quit smoking once and for all. 

"I don't understand how someone can be a smoker in the military with the new fitness program we have," Sergeant Smith said. "My squadron started to run in November 2005, which was right after I quit smoking. I couldn't complete the run without stopping to breathe." 

Senior Airman Brandon Healy, 305th Operations Support Squadron weather forecaster, also quit smoking in November 2005. 

"My wife is a non-smoker, and she would always encourage me to quit smoking," Airman Healy said. "I tried a few times, but I was never quitting for the right reasons. It got to a point where I just realized there were too many benefits to quitting. The last time I quit smoking, I set myself up for success -- I knew I was ready to tackle it on my own, and I knew I was doing this for myself." 

In the end, Sergeant Smith and Airman Healy agree it was all worth it.
"It took a long time for my lungs to clear up, but I can now run the 3.2 mile wing run without stopping," Sergeant Smith said. "Col. (Randall) Harvey, 305th Maintenance Group commander, couldn't figure out what was going on," she said. "I started passing him in the group runs, or at least catching up to him -- when I used to always be in the back." 

"In November 2005, Senior Airman Smith was one of the last finishers in our group runs," Colonel Harvey said. "Three months ago, she was able to finish right with me -- I was amazed. Then, about halfway through the Wing Command Run in February, she passed me and kept on pulling ahead." 

"She had been at the finish line for quite some time when I finished. I asked her how in tarnation she was able to go so fast when it should have been a physical impossibility since she is far shorter than me and my legs are much longer," the colonel said. "She told me that she had quit smoking about the same time we started the group runs and that she had been getting faster and healthier since." 

Although it was tough in the beginning, they both stuck through with quitting smoking and made it out on top. 

"It was a struggle to run in the beginning, but now I am able to push myself a lot more and work up my endurance," Sergeant Smith said. "My overall condition and well-being are so much better, and I feel so much better." 

"I feel a thousand times better," Airman Healy said. "Overall, I'm healthier, more alert, both physically and mentally, and I shaved about two minutes off my run time."
For all those smokers out there, Sergeant Smith encourages you to quit. And if you can't do it the first time - try, try, try again. 

"I want to stress to everyone that if I can quit smoking, anyone can quit smoking," she said. "The key is to stay active -- exercising for me was a release, because you become really angry during the quitting process. If you don't think you can quit, you really can - just stick with it," she said. 

"I had a motivator because I had my grandma to think about, but think about the long-term benefits quitting will have on your life," Sergeant Smith said. "It's so worth it."