How I Accidentally Quit Smoking in Two Steps

It hadn’t been my intention to quit smoking for good, but sometimes things have a funny way of turning out.

At the time, I was a relapsed smoker keeping his habit in the closet while living in another city, away from my former significant other, my family, and anyone else who would go on the warpath if they knew what I was up to. (”But I don’t understand! You were doing so well!”) Meanwhile, I had felt trapped in an expensive habit that I didn’t enjoy much anymore, but one that had certain side effects if I went too long without it, namely impaired concentration, or even a general feeling of spaciness. I was forever quitting cold turkey, only to relapse within hours, or even sooner.

It felt like the tobacco industry had me right where it wanted me.

Step One: Breaking Positive Associations

Somewhere in mid-2005, I was commuting back home to Ottawa at least two weekends per month, or more if work was slow. (I was an actor and extra in the Toronto film and television industry, a line of work that tends to be feast or famine.) Being in the smoker’s closet, I would refrain from my habit while I was in Ottawa, and then once back in Toronto, I would light up again for the first time in at least two or three days. All told, I was averaging about two completely smoke-free days per week.