Poker News

Susie Isaacs

In the last issue of Poker Player I got on a tangent about smoking. If you missed it, don’t misunderstand. I was the world’s most addicted smoker, so I wasn’t lambasting anyone. I was simply discussing the addiction and how very difficult it is to beat it. I speak from experience.

I believe that everyone has to do it (quit) his or her own way, find their own path so to speak. I have talked to people who have tried, shots, pills, gum, patches, hypnotism, and prayer. Nothing worked.

I will share with you how I did it. I have waited almost ten years to write this because I had to feel totally confident that I was done and would never go back! I would have been so embarrassed to write an article on how to beat the demon cigarettes, only to go back to them and have you catch me sneaking a smoke.

The first time I tried to quit was in 1972. I was dating a guy who didn’t smoke and I wanted to impress him as a nonsmoker. I was working in a smoking environment, a supper club. I knew I was cranky but tried to do my job and be pleasant. Evidently, I was unsuccessful. A few hours before the end of my shift on my fifth day of withdrawal, my boss, who I had a good relationship with, pressed a dollar in my hand and whispered, “Before you go home tonight, buy a pack of cigarettes, smoke three or four and then see me in my office.” I did just that, after all, I had been ordered to! When I went into his office, he growled, “The next time you decide to quit smoking, you quit this job first and if you ever talk to me like you talked to me tonight, or turn your back to me when I am talking to you, the way you did tonight, they are going to have to take you to the hospital… to get my foot out of your ass!”

The next time I made the decision to quit, it wasn’t to impress anyone. It was because I had a great desire to quit. I had developed a terrible cough and I felt lousy most of the time. I made a plan; I would withdraw gradually. I smoked 10 cigarettes on day one, nine the next day, eight, seven, six, and so forth. By that last cigarette on the tenth day, I did not feel like I had withdrawn from nicotine at all. I felt like I might go crazy and I talked to myself a lot. I also cried a lot. My body was screaming for nicotine and what about the actual habit of smoking? What was I suppose to do with that first cup of coffee in the morning, when I answered the phone, after dinner?

Those were my favorite times to light up. This is what I did; I did light up, just not for real. I cut a straw in half and actually took some of my half straws and put them in an empty pack of cigarettes. I would open the pack, (flip-top box) take the cigarette out, light my lighter and pretend smoke. It helped.

For probably a year I used that pacifier (only privately.) At the pokertable, I used a stir stick but I didn’t “light” it, like I did at home, however I had the ritual of holding my cigarette, putting it to my mouth, inhaling a big drag and then exhaling.

I was fortunate because I worked at home. I’m not so sure I would have made it if I had a “real” job. Days two, five and ten were the toughest, but I continued to crave a cigarette, on occasion for years to come. At first it was almost all I ever thought about and then, like grieving for a lost loved one, it did get easier with time. Today, I’m clean (not always sober) and I believe I will never light up again. I have no desire to smoke and the smell of a smoker to these clean, smoke-free nostrils is so bad that it horrifies me to realize that I smelled like that for decades!

If you make that difficult decision, know one thing, if Susie Isaacs can quit smoking, so can you! Maybe you too can get a sponsor! Good luck!

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