I am 60 years young and did not want to end up carrying an oxygen tank around with me for the rest of my life, so coupled with the fact that I was tired of the house, car, and me smelling like stale cigarettes and wanting to be able to breathe and feel better, I made the commitment to quit smoking.

It was becoming more and more inconvenient to smoke when away from home and trying to find a comfortable place to smoke made me feel like a kid who was off doing something they were not supposed to.  I was always trying to be considerate of my family members who did not smoke, but I knew that my habit was offensive to them.

So, with the help of the Wyoming Quit Tobacco Program, I quit smoking on July 4th, 2007 (after smoking for 44 years) and already feel like I can breathe better.  I am using the stairs more and more and have to admit that it is nice having my husband, Mom, and co-workers feel proud of me. 

I would like to thank the Wyoming Quit Tobacco Program for their great support!  The telephone counseling, materials, and nicotine replacement product I chose all helped me quit smoking.  At first I didn’t think I would like the telephone counseling, but found the counselors to be very helpful and comfortable to talk to.  I have told a lot of people about the Wyoming Quit Tobacco Program and have encouraged them to at least try.

Rita J. Smith

Well-Being of Wyoming Board Secretary - John Becker

Hello, my name is John Becker and I have lived in this community for the past 49 years. I am a graduate of Natrona County High School, Casper College, and Chadron State College with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, 1980. In the summer of 1981 I started my career with the Evansville Police Department and in January 1983 I went to work for the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office. I wear many hats with the Sheriff’s Office; I am a ranking Sergeant, Head Firearms Instructor, Records / Civil Supervisor, and Grant Writer for the Sheriff’s Office.  In 1991 I took on the task of being the adjunct instructor for Casper College.  The classes that I teach are Criminal Investigations, Criminalistics, and Firearms.  I call this my “Stress Relief Job.”  For the past 13 years I have had the opportunity to work for the Sturgis Police Department during their annual Motorcycle Rally, which attracts anywhere from 300,000 to 800,000 people.

I became a member of the Well-Being of Wyoming Coalition in 2005 to help our DARE deputies with the teaching of the ill effects of tobacco use.  In the curriculum it talks about what tobacco does to the body, the outer appearance, the odor it causes, and the effects of secondhand smoke.  The more I attended the coalition meetings and got involved, I realized that I had the fortune of having my father around a lot longer than most.  You see, when I was 8 years old my dad had a bleeding ulcer and was in the hospital. The doctor told him to either quit smoking and drinking or die!  He looked at the doctor and told him, “I Quit!”  The doctor handed my mother his cigars and he said, "Al has been smoking for so long it is going to be hard for him to quit."  From that day forward, he did not touch another smoke and would only have a glass of wine, with dinner during the Christmas holidays.  He told me of one incident when he was at work about a year after he quit smoking, of how a coworker, not knowing he had quit, offered him a cigarette.  Dad said he grabbed the cigarette put it to his mouth and as the gentleman was about to light the cigarette my dad pulled it away and told him that he had quit smoking.  He said that if he would have lit the cigarette it would have been all over.  My dad passed away about 13 years ago, but I know he would have died sooner had he never stopped smoking.

What does the number “820” mean to you? 

The annual number of tobacco deaths in Wyoming, currently at about 820, might be easy to dismiss with a thought such as “oh—that’s too many...larger than some Wyoming towns.” But each of us in Wyoming is touched by the individual deaths that make that 820 a too-, too-high number.

This is what “820” means to me.  In 2003, my mother’s death was counted in that number. Even as a lifelong non-smoker, she died of lung cancer. A life spent in the cloud of secondhand exposure to smokers had taken its toll.

My father’s 1995 fatal heart attack was the result of a lifetime of smoking, beginning as a pre-Korea US soldier. He tried many times to quit cigarettes, some with short-term success, but the addictive habit was the cause of his early death.

As I recount the death and disease my own family has suffered by tobacco, I tally an aunt, uncle, uncle’s wife, grandfather, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. That’s the count so far. I hope each day that family and friends will find the support they need to defeat their addictions to tobacco. I pray to not someday count them in that continuing tally of tobacco deaths.

This is why I work in tobacco control. Why I refuse to eat in restaurants that allow smoking. Why I don’t buy gasoline at convenience stores that sell cigarettes. Why I stand in protest at spit-tobacco sponsored rodeos. Why I tell my personal stories of tobacco deaths to students, co-workers, friends and family. Won’t you please tell your stories also? Because “820” is a number we should not accept in Wyoming.

At 14 a friend offered me a cigarette…
Chuck Leonard of Casper, Wyoming shares his quit story;

A Casper resident, Chuck Leonard, recently quit smoking and
chewing after using tobacco products for 58 years.  At the age
of 14, a friend offered him his first cigarette while they worked
together in a mortuary.  His tobacco habit soon evolved to
smoking a pack of Camels, using Kentucky Club pipe tobacco,
and six cigars a day. 

When it came time to quit, Chuck used the “Break Free Wyoming”
cessation program along with the “Wyoming Quit Tobacco
Program” for nicotine replacement, and the “Wyoming Quitline”
for additional support and counseling.

When asked why he quit using tobacco, Chuck replied that he
wanted to support his 43 year old son who smoked 3 packs a day,
and has been smoke-free for a year now.

Chucks message to everyone is, “Anyone can do it, and you’ll feel
better!”  Chuck says he sleeps better, breaths better, and his wife
is proud of him!