Quitting Is Contagious

Here is a "bug" you’d like to catch: The quitting bug!

It may sound silly, but interesting and powerful new research reveals that the decision to quit smoking cigarettes or using smokeless tobacco depends in large part on whether your girlfriend, spouse, or circle of friends also quit tobacco. In other words, quitting really is contagious! Now, if you can just catch the quitting bug, the process won’t feel impossible or isolating.

For starters, this Web site has lots of tools you can use to break the cycle of tobacco use. But unless you feel motivated and ready, all the tools in the world are not going to help you. Motivation comes from so many areas of your life. You may find motivation or inspiration to quit smoking from your family, your buddies, or your romantic relationship. Maybe your fellow service members or officers are your motivation to lose the smokes, dip, or chew. They have stop smoking stories to tell and cessation experiences to share that are not unlike your own.

Now let’s get back to the study that was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers kept track of over 12,000 people who were somehow socially connected. These study participants were monitored for 32 years. It turned out that although many people in this group who were smokers saw their battle with nicotine addiction as an individual struggle, they actually gave up smoking in groups. Quitters stuck together, even if it was not intentional, and ended up quitting at the same time as others in their social network. Researchers found that someone who stops smoking may inspire not just his or her circle of friends, but even distant members of their social network, such as a friend of a friend of a friend. In many cases, it was someone the smoker did not even know.

So what does this mean to you? Find a buddy who is thinking about quitting tobacco too and you’ve instantly improved your chances for success. You’ll both be working toward the same goal! Of course you can quit tobacco alone, but now there is proof that it just makes sense to work as a team. And your decision to quit smoking or chewing might convince a young person who looks up to you to do the same, or better yet, to never start. Here are some tips for getting the process started, and for helping you stick to your decision.

• Prepare yourself for the quitting process. As a service member you’ve learned to give up things—time with family, belongings, etc. Maybe you’re even America’s Next Top Quitter, but in a good way! You’ve got to be prepared.
• Keep your hands off the tobacco triggers! Unless you have the strength and willpower of Superman or Wonder Woman, it’s better to avoid the things, people, and places that prompt you to dip or light up.
• Be aware of harmful smoking effects. Tobacco is a foe like no other, and you should never underestimate its power to hurt you. When you think of the things it can do to your young and healthy body, you should get mad, get tough, and get quitting!
• Give yourself a break! This quitting business is hard work, so try these stress busters, and don’t beat up on yourself or your quitting crew if you slip. Remember that quitting takes practice.

You’ve been taught to work as part of a team, whether you’re figuring out the best way to cross a dangerous bridge or to stand watch together. Use the resources you’ve learned from teamwork and apply them to this challenge. Get your team together and become a safety net for each other.

By now you’ve probably joined Facebook and MySpace, so why not join this brand new and worthwhile social network…the “Ex-Tobacco Users.” It may not have a special Web page, but it’s got a lot of friends, family, and admirers. Quitting is contagious, and we urge you to spread the quitting bug right now.