Smokeout Day challenge to stop lighting up

link Staff illustration: Jenna Zamie

It’s been 26 years — today — since Rebecca Holt picked up her last cigarette. She quit cold turkey, on a promise that, if she did, her boss would pay her $100.

The challenge was spurred by the Great American Smokeout Day, an American Cancer Society event to encourage smokers to put down the packs and lighters for an entire day “and triumph over addiction,” according to cancer.org.

It was a challenge Holt was happy to accept; for nine years, she had smoked more than a pack a day, was constantly coughing, sick and hated smelling like smoke all the time.

“I took the challenge and quit cold turkey on that day,” Holt said. “I never lit up again, and the check was mine.”

Dorothy Nelson, senior community manager for Relay for Life, said the 2016 Relay for Life kickoff is coinciding with the Great American Smokeout Day between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. today at the North Plains Mall.

It’s something she hopes will encourage other smokers to follow in Holt’s footsteps.

“Hopefully people will be aware it’s Great American Smokeout Day and decide to quit for the day and come to the kickoff,” Nelson said, adding that a lot of information about smoking and different resources to help smokers quit will be available at the event.

“Now we have people they can call that will coach them,” Nelson said, noting that the non-profit has partnered with Quit Now. “It’s really advanced from asking people to quit and tough it out. Now we have ways to help them, so that’s exciting to me.”

Nelson added that teams could also start registering for Relay for Life tonight. That program raises money for cancer research.

Holt said her journey to stay smoke-free wasn’t easy because “back then, it was an office where everyone lit up at their desk.”

“It was hard. I think I drank more sodas, I tried to eat healthier — that was really important,” Holt said. “My boss at the time would make sure there was popcorn out to try and help us (quit for good). Since then, I took my health very seriously.”

She made it. To this day, she said it’s important for her to not be around even second-hand smoke.

“It’s a serious health hazard,” Holt said. “Second-hand smoke is causing a wide range of health affects in kids, adults, lung cancer, COPD, asthma. Second-hand smoke contains chemicals known to be hazardous.”

In 2002, Holt said, her father died of lung cancer.

“So every year for the last 26 years, I’ve encouraged family and friends to quit for that one day, and hopefully it’ll be a new beginning for them to quit smoking forever like I did,” she said. “It’s hard, but you have to really want to commit yourself to do it, and it can be done.”

Since she quit, Holt said she has saved (or spent on other things) close to $50,000 she would’ve spent on cigarettes.

“The importance to me though is people’s health,” she said. “(Great American Smokeout Day) might help people live a little longer and help people fight those deadly diseases. We might keep our loved ones a little longer just by showing our support.”