Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   A friend came to me recently, heartbroken. She and her husband have been together for 10 years. He was her first love. And now, they’re getting a divorce. We thought they were great together. Sure, he smelled bad, but we let that go because she loved him so much. He was always with her at parties, always there to celebrate the fun times with her. He was there in the hard times too, when she had stressful days, when she felt... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   If any country on earth is culturally defined through cigarettes, it’s Spain. Butts crushed on the stone streets, olive-skinned Sevillanos taking drags in the late hours of Féria, smoke misting every bar in Barcelona—it seems you forget that real air actually exists in Spanish public until you get back to the smoke-free airport for your return flight. Until now. Spain is considering a revolutionary, culture-warp... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:    "Mozhno strelnut u vas sigaretu?" This is what you ask if you want to bum a cigarette in Russia. And as tempting as it may have been for President Obama to ask this of his ambassadorial hosts while he was on a visit to Moscow, he refrained. Russia is wrought with tobacco. As with many European countries, cigarettes are normalized in everyday Russian culture. Even an international architectural icon like the Kre... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   The state of Virginia is following suit with many other states and is expected to enact a smoking ban. This ban, as with other states’ precedents, would restrict tobacco use in public places and businesses. According to a recent article, small tobacco-focused Virginia businesses are concerned that the ban will threaten their livelihood. In addition, the controversial law is under political scrutiny. Some argue that the ban ... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Trainer, Service Delivery:   My grandfather died of emphysema. Twice. I never met my grandfather, but from what my father tells me, both of his deaths were terrible. Dale was a self-made man who survived through homelessness with a work ethic that only a Scottish-American in the Great Depression could muster. He fought in WWII, lived to marry a sweet Irish nurse, and raised five children on an electrician’s salary. Dale also smoked. He s... [More]