Meet the Clear Horizons Quitters

Fred T. is 70 years old. He retired at 64. He and his wife did a lot of traveling the first few years after his retirement, to the national parks, and to Ohio to see their daughter's family. Fred decided to quit smoking four years ago. He was having trouble breathing and catching his breath. His doctor diagnosed mild emphysema and told Fred that he could keep the disease from getting worse if he'd quit smoking. It was hard, but he did it. And he's still off, despite more than his share of bad times since quitting.

*Click on Fred's picture below to see his testimonial!

You'll meet other quitters throughout the online guide.

You know ex-smokers, too.

Find some ex-smokers in your life. Ask them to tell you their stories about how they felt after quitting. Talk to them as you go from smoker to non-smoker. They can give you inspiration, support, encouragement and useful tips.

Stopping smoking isn't something that just happens. Chances are you won't wake up one morning and find you're an ex-smoker. First, you have to decide you want to quit. It might be tempting to say, "I've smoked all these years and I'm still here." Many smokers have lived to regret those words. The choice is yours to make.

Did you know that most smokers want to quit?

Nine out of ten American smokers have tried to quit, or say they would if they thought they could succeed. In fact, 65% of smokers aged 50 and over responding to a recent poll of AARP members said they wanted to quit in the next year. Fewer than 25% of the smokers had never tried to quit.

What holds them back?

Smokers say there are some things that keep them from quitting. How about you? Are any of these worries standing in your way?

Think about the concerns that apply to you.

"Smoking relaxes me. I'm afraid I'd be nervous all the time if I didn't smoke."

But why are you tense to start with? Is it because you're low on nicotine? A lot of what you think is relaxation is relief from nicotine withdrawal. Ex-smokers polled six months after quitting say they feel calmer and more in control without cigarettes.

"I've tried before and didn't make it. I can't stand the thought of failing again."

You didn't fail. You got practice. Research shows that among both younger and older adults, it takes a few tries before smokers quit for good.

"I'm afraid that if I stop smoking, I'll gain a lot of weight."

Many smokers worry about this. The truth is that only some ex-smokers gain weight. If you're really worried about gaining weight, Clear Horizons has diet and exercise tips that can help you limit the weight gain.