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Great American Smokeout: Local man quits 'cold turkey' for good reason

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Defiance resident Tim Brown, a local businessman, stopped smoking cold turkey on Oct. 5.

By JENNY DERRINGER

derringer@crescent-news.com

Cold turkey is something Defiance resident Tim Brown knows all too well. No, not the leftovers from a holiday dinner, but the process of quitting smoking abruptly.

Brown, 50, will be one of many observing the 33rd annual Great American Smokeout today. He has been smoke free since Oct. 5.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates 438,000 premature deaths are due to smoking each year. That includes 38,000 deaths among nonsmokers who inhale secondhand smoke.

Brown doesn't intend to be another statistic. He made the decision last month to quit -- and for good reason.

One Sunday after church services, he asked his cousin, a nurse, to take his blood pressure. After learning it was high at 150/90, he made an appointment with a local physician, who ordered a stress test on Oct. 24.

The day went downhill from there as Brown was sent to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, for a heart catheter. It was discovered that one artery in his heart was 90 percent blocked so physicians needed to place a stent in that artery.

Brown feels very fortunate it was only one artery. Having smoked rather steadily for the past six years, he had smoked on and off for about 30 years.

He knew it was time to quit when he "realized something was seriously wrong." He has had only one relapse so far and bought a pack of cigarettes but reality made him toss those away as well.

What's he doing with all that money he's saved by not smoking? "Paying for medicine," Brown joked. "I traded one for the other.

"Hopefully, this will keep me alive," he added, "so I can watch my kids and grandkids grow up."

Today would be the ideal time for many to quit smoking as the Great American Smokeout was initially started to encourage the public to quit smoking, even if it was for one day.

That could be the first day of many for the approximate 45.3 million Americans who light up every day. It is estimated that more than 44 percent of smokers will at least quit for the day.

For more information on the Great American Smokeout, visit www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamerican/smokeout.asp.

That site offers a 24-hour Quitline connecting smokers with trained counselors. ACS reports that those who seek counseling are twice as likely to quit smoking. Organized in 2000, Quitline has supported at least 380,000 smokers.

Smoking cessation success can mean better health and a longer life. According to ACS, continuing to smoke puts one at more risk for cancer of the lungs, mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidneys, pancreas and stomach, in addition to pneumonia, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, peripheral vascular disease, strokes, erectile dysfunction, macular degeneration and miscarriages, just to name a few.

If that isn't enough incentive, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, male smokers live approximately 13 years less than their nonsmoking counterparts, while female smokers live about 14 years less.

Offering one-on-one smoking cessation classes is Defiance Regional Medical Center's cardiopulmonary department. For more information, call the department at 419-783-6972 for individualized sessions.

Tobacco chewers are welcome to join the Great American Smokeout today as well. Chewing tobacco and using snuff are just as dangerous in their own right.

Smokeless tobacco is said to be a factor in approximately 9,000 deaths each year, according to the National Cancer Institute, which hosts the website, www.MyLastDip.com.