When Nancy DePalma found herself driving to the store over icy roads to buy cigarettes, or smoking butts she found in her ashtrays, she realized she had a problem. She was “sick and tired” of being held captive by her cigarette addiction and embarrassed when her patients and friends smelled cigarette smoke on her.

Glenn Hair started smoking when he was 12 years old and smoked up to two packs of cigarettes every day. He tried to quit smoking numerous times but always found an excuse for why it was not the right time. He told himself he would quit later, but when he received his cancer diagnosis, he realized that, “One of these days, later isn’t going to come.” 

Lauren Ryan (Chapel Hill Transit) started smoking socially in college and continued to smoke after graduation. Soon, Lauren married, and she and her husband planned to become pregnant. She quit smoking until her son was 17 months old.

Andy Colon decided to quit his tobacco addiction and went all out to create a healthier lifestyle for himself. He changed the way he ate, exercised more and, of course, stopped smoking. A friend told him about the Wellness@Work Tobacco Cessation program and Andy loved the idea of getting the support to quit, as well as the convenience of meeting at his workplace. It gave him the “backbone for change.” The free medications and the incentive of $100 for remaining tobacco free for 6 months encouraged him to reach his goal.

Matt Lawrence came to the Wellness@Work Program dipping a can of tobacco every day, having made multiple “practice attempts” without sustaining abstinence. He hated the control that tobacco exerted over him. In his position as Deputy Fire Chief, he wanted to be a good role model and had become weary of hiding his tobacco use.

May 2, 2017 will mark two years of Susan Hinson’s quitting cigarettes, and is also the due date for her first grandchild! She feels excited about the baby’s arrival and also pleased that she doesn’t have to worry about her smoking affecting the child.

Erin Barringer, a nursing assistant in the Neurosciences Hospital, began smoking socially in 10th grade, and over the years she increased her smoking to one-half pack of cigarettes a day. She continued at this level until 2010 when she found out she was pregnant. She remained tobacco free through her pregnancy and breastfeeding until her daughter, Jalliyah, was about 6 months old. At that time, she returned to smoking socially — and also did so to help deal with stress.

Lana Simons, a Chapel Hill Transit employee, has been tobacco free for 2½ years! She says it’s a “nicer way to live,” not having cigarettes as part of her life, and she is proud of herself for doing it.

Howard Sutton, clinical support technician in the Department of Anesthesia, enrolled in the Tobacco Free Tar Heels program three years ago. Today he is tobacco free. When Howard Sutton enrolled in the Tobacco Free Tar Heels (TFTH) program three years ago, stress in his life seemed to be the biggest barrier to quitting smoking. After trying different strategies for dealing with stress, he always found himself turning back to smoking for relief.

When nursing assistant Rebecca Langham enrolled in UNC Health Care System’s Tobacco Free Tar Heels (TFTH) program, she had been smoking a pack of cigarettes daily since she was 16 years old. Today, thanks to TFTH and her own personal dedication, she’s tobacco free.