Diane Clark was just 15 years old when she started smoking cigarettes to fit in with her friends. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but 47 years later, the Augustine Cove resident couldn’t quit the habit.
By last winter, Diane and her husband were each smoking a full pack a day. They were always out of breath, had no energy and suffered from uncontrollable coughing fits.
Diane and her husband wanted to quit — and had tried, too many times to count — but they lacked the support they needed to make it stick. So when they heard about the PEI Smoking Cessation Program, they decided it was time to ask for help and quit smoking for good.
Over the past 20 years, Prince Edward Island has made significant progress in creating smoke-free environments that are helping Islanders to live tobacco-free; despite that, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of illness and death in Prince Edward Island. That’s why, in December of 2019, the provincial government introduced the PEI Smoking Cessation Program, which provides even more support to Islanders in their journey to a tobacco-free life.
The PEI Smoking Cessation Program helps residents who wish to stop smoking or using other tobacco products by covering 100 per cent of the cost of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products (nicotine gum, lozenges, patches, inhaler) or smoking cessation medications.
In the early weeks of 2020, the program arranged for Diane and her husband to meet with a nurse at their local Primary Care Network office. Together, they decided he would try nicotine patches and she would try a prescription medication called Champix®. They set a quit date (Jan. 26, 2020) and began their treatments together.
It’s now almost a full year later. On Jan. 26, 2021, Diane and her husband will celebrate a full year of being tobacco-free — “one good thing to come out of 2020,” as they like to say.
Diane says quitting smoking has changed both her and her husband’s life, giving them more time, energy and disposable income than they’ve ever had. The couple once spent $30 a day on a pack of cigarettes each, which means they now have an extra $10,950 a year and are more comfortable financially. They’re very glad to be non-smokers now, especially with four grandchildren and two more on the way.
“If you’re trying to quit, take advantage of the smoking cessation program that is here to help,” says Diane. “Don’t give up, because quitting is worth it.”
To learn more about the PEI Smoking Cessation Program, please email [email protected] or call (902) 368-4319.
