EL PASO — Living with a chain-smoking habit that seems to run in her family, Erika Esparza fears being diagnosed with lung cancer but has failed to quit after many attempts even after seeking help along the way.
“I’ve been smoking since I was 13. Both of my parents smoked about a carton a week each and growing up, it wasn’t a big deal to light a cigarette for them if they were busy. I started buying my own cigarettes at the corner store where my mom would send me to buy hers,” Esparza said.
Esparza, 36, has cut down to about three cigarettes a day from a pack-a-day habit. She quit for the first time six years ago but that only lasted two weeks. Her second failed attempt was four years ago.
“I tried using the patch both times but it made me very sick for days within a few hours. I started smoking again due to my terrible anxiety attacks and terrible temper,” Esparza said.
Esparza said she would try to quit for one day November 15 during the Great American Smokeout Day, but she again failed to abandon tobacco. Known for encouraging smokers to make a long-term plan to quit smoking, the Smokeout Day will even settle for one day of abstention.
According to Martha Silva, community manager at the American Cancer Society, Inc. in El Paso and The Tobacco Atlas, it is estimated that one billion people will die worldwide during the 21st century if they don’t quit smoking. The Society provides smokers with tips and on-line tools to help smokers resign from tobacco for good.
“We have several events throughout the year that help us raise money to support our programs and services for all patients diagnosed with cancer in our city, such as golf tournaments and relays,” Silva said.
Tobacco use accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 80 percent of lung cancer deaths, according to The Tobacco Atlas published by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation. In the U.S., tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths, or about 443,000 premature deaths each year.
Two members of Esparza’s family and one close friend have died from lung cancer. This gave Esparza a reason to completely free herself of any addictions and set an example for her daughters.
“My daughters are my biggest supporters without any judgment. They have witnessed how hard I’ve tried to quit in the past and how miserable I became without cigarettes. They actually came to me one day telling me that they missed the old me and that they support me no matter what,” Esparza said.
She also mentioned that even though she’s a smoker working at a casino in Las Vegas, the smell of cigarettes still bothers her.
According to the American Cancer Society, 600,000 people die annually because of second-hand smoke, including casino workers, from dealers to waitresses and security. Only 15 of the 23 states with 100 percent smoke-free laws require all gambling venues to be smoke-free. Cigarette smoking costs the United States more than $193 billion in lost productivity and health care expenditures.
Esparza is proud to say that her kids broke the cycle and have decided to be non-smokers because they have witnessed how difficultit is to break the addiction. She believes people should know how hard it is to stop.
“When you’re young, people don’t tell you how easy it is to get addicted to cigarettes and nobody talks about how hard it is to quit later on in life,” Esparza said. “I’ve been thinking about giving it another try.”
Smokers who quit, no matter the age, live longer than people who continue to smoke. In just 20 minutes after quitting smoking, heart rate and blood pressure drop, and in about one to nine months after quitting, coughing and shortness of breath decrease, according to The Tobacco Atlas.
Eric Lavender, 22, has been smoking about a pack every two days for six years now. He has been on a battle to quit for almost a year.
“I’m more concerned for my health and thanks to my fiancée I’ve been even more motivated to quit,” said Lavender. “My dad came close to dying once after he was in the hospital for about a month with severe smoker’s lungs and cirrhosis of the liver.”
Lavender, like Esparza, however, was not successful in dropping the smoking habit after the Smokeout Day.
I work for Legacy, a national public health foundation working to help young people reject tobacco and build a world where anyone can quit. We run a free online quit smoking program called BecomeAnEX.org, that is a great resource for anyone looking to quit. It helps smokers understand when and why they smoke each cigarette, so that they can break down their quit attempt into manageable pieces. As part of the preparation for quitting smoking, EX teaches smokers how to break the “glue” that holds each cigarette to its “trigger,” so when they do actually stop smoking, they will be better prepared and more confident in their ability to quit successfully. The site offers action-oriented information on how to quit successfully using proven methods. I wanted to offer it as a resource for anyone looking to re-learn life without cigarettes not just on the Great American Smokeout, but any day during the year. The site is also available in Spanish at: http://es.becomeanex.org/