Local woman finds inspiration to quit smoking for good
Cindy DiFazio - Staff Writer

The 29th Annual American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout is today, Thursday, November 17. This year 460,000 Hoosiers are expected to quit for the day. The American Cancer Society hopes that many of those will consider giving up the habit for good.

Kelly Vollet, technology director for Ripley County, and 37-year smoker, quit smoking seven months ago and she says she "ain't goin' back!"

Vollet admits she started smoking very young, at age 13. She says her mother started even younger. "Mom started really young," she explained. "She put cigarettes in her pencil box and took them to school with her."

Vollet stated that she had only tried twice before to quit, and had not lasted more than a week each time. She said that this time there were a number of contributing factors to her successful attempt.

Vollet's mother died of colon cancer earlier this year. Although it was not lung cancer, Vollet remembers thinking, "If mom can die of cancer, so can I."

Another incentive was that the cost of cigarettes had risen drastically. Being a pack-a-day smoker, Vollet figured that her cigarettes were costing $1,092 a year.

She also noted that smoking had become inconvenient. Vollet and her husband had begun smoking only outside at their house or in the basement after they had washed their windows and were horrified at the nicotine on the panes.

So, armed with her incentives, Vollet found she had something she had never possessed before - the will to quit! She asserted, "I will never tell anyone else to quit. That didn't work on me. It took me wanting to."

This time around she used the nicotine patch. She followed the nine-week program which delivers lower and lower doses of nicotine in three-week increments. She talked to her doctor, who wrote her a prescription. Although the patches are now available over-the-counter, Vollet's insurance covered all but $10 of the cost, a substantial savings.

She was concerned about weight gain and so began a diet and started walking every day. She has lost 35 pounds and walks at least two miles a day. Vollet said that she once was enjoying her walk so much she found she had done eight miles. She walks on the outside track at the Batesville YMCA, and on days she can't walk, she works out. (Although a YMCA membership may seem a bit expensive at about $500 a year, it is actually less than half the cost of a pack-a-day habit.)

After more than a half-year of smoking abstinence, the benefits Vollet is enjoying are many. At a recent physical, her doctor noted that her blood pressure was down. The Vollets just returned from a trip to Mammoth Cave where they celebrated their 26th anniversary. She said, "We did a lot of walking up and down, and I wasn't out of breath." She no longer has a cough. She says with a smile, "I am proud of myself for quitting. I never thought I could."

In 2005 the Annual Report to the Nation on Cancer, co-authored by the American Cancer Society, stated that lung cancer incidence and death rates are on the decline for men, while for women, incidence rates are declining while death rates have stabilized. These results demonstrate the profound impact of prevention and smoking cessation efforts in the past few decades.

The American Cancer Society offers support and information for smokers who want to quit. Call toll-free, 24 hours a day, 1-800-227-2345. You also may log on to www.cancer.org or locally, you can call 812-376-6781.