Janice Milliman, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   Like many, I've been closely following the legal and moral debates over e-cigarettes. Out of my own curiosity and a yearning to understand each participant's experience, I wanted to know more from people who have actually used the e-cig. So, I conducted my own non-scientific poll about e-cigs. I know the findings are not scientific, the sample size was way too small, and definitely not random or unbiased (after all, the people I spo... [More]

Jason Kalivas, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   I don't actually have asthma. No doctor has ever looked at my lungs and noted any inflammation. I've never had what I could surely call an asthma attack. I don't have an inhaler. If I get smoke in my lungs, even from incense, I feel my throat close a little and I cough, but I don't really have asthma. Sometimes it's just easier to say that I do. Maybe it's cowardice. Maybe it's a cop-out. But it's so much easier than getting into... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   Ron feels liberated. Matt is proud. Gregory can’t believe it. Jay loves it. Dustin is confident. James is free. We’ve come to the end of the road. Our tobacco cessation support group at the Gay City Health Project joins for one last classroom session on Tuesday 2/16. The guys sit around the table and announce how they have quit successfully. “I’ve smoked for 28 years,” Gregory shakes his head. He smirks impishly and a... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   “Eight dollars,” Matt admits. “Eight dollars!?” Dan yelps. The price has gone up since he smoked. This is what Matt paid for a pack of cigarettes. He had his last drag after our session last Tuesday, and a week later, Tuesday 2/9, he is still tobacco free. He looks fresh and sounds proud of himself. Lark, Dan and I facilitate the Out To Quit group’s sixth meeting together. The topic of discussion tonight? Rewards. ... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   Ask anyone who has quit an addiction, “If ever you relapse, what would be the one thing that could bring you back?” Stress will likely be the answer. Breakups, breakdowns, layoffs, lawsuits: when stress hits, the reflex kicks in, and you might think of smoking without consciously meaning to. Tuesday 2/2 marks our fifth session as the Out To Quit group. 6 returning gay men sit around the long table with Dan at the front. Dan... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   “It’s like a pause button,” Ergane says. “The emotions are still waiting for me when I’m done, but it gives me a break.” Smoking is Ergane’s excuse to walk away from the stress in his life. He admits to me and Dan as we facilitate this week’s Out To Quit session that cigarettes don’t actually relieve stress; they just provide a temporary escape. An escape that, lately, he has been using 20 times each day. The group is b... [More]

Jason Kalivas, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   A lot of the people I help on the phones have a social cue to smoke. If their friends or co-workers light up, there they go. Some people have a trigger so strong that even seeing someone smoke on TV or in the movies is enough to cause an urge. Though I’ve always had empathy, I never really understood an urge that strong until I watched Mad Men. A drama about the early 1960's New York advertising world, historical accuracy wafts over t... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   “What do you love about smoking?” Lark’s question is greeted by silence. The meeting starts off quietly—everyone is still becoming acquainted. Today, Tuesday 1/12, is the second meeting for the Out To Quit group. We have 9 returning gay men seeking support in quitting smoking. This meeting, Session 2, is their first step on that road. As a facilitator, Lark calls on each participant to get their thoughts. Dan and I assis... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   It’s Tuesday, January 5th. By the time I finish work, it’s completely dark in Seattle and the traffic is thinning. I bolt uphill on foot to Capitol Hill, where I’m about to meet strangers—I’m hoping for five, maybe six. I’m the last one to arrive at the Gay City Health Project, so I blush when I walk through the doors and all faces turn to me. More than five, more than six. There are twelve! These men and the two other facili... [More]

Christine Welker, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   As Ken Wassum discussed recently in his post, "Want to be a Nonsmoker in 2010? Make Plans to Quit Now," the New Year is the most popular time to try to quit tobacco. With just a little less than two weeks to go, many smokers are weighing their options, contemplating what life would be like without tobacco, and thinking about the reasons they may choose to quit tobacco for good. If you are a tobacco user, you may have loved ones who have ... [More]