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Troy: Alright, hello and welcome truckers the date is March 6th and this is the 25th episode of Big Rig Banter. I’m your co-host Troy Diffenderfer.
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host, Lenay Ruhl.
Troy: Lenay, it’s a beautiful March day, we’re looking outside, the sun is shining. How are you today?
Lenay: I’m great, ready for Spring. How are you today?
Troy: I’m doing pretty good.
Lenay: Good, good. So, for those of you listening, we had a bit of a debate this week, Troy and I.
Troy: Yes, it was–it got pretty heated.
Lenay: I mean we’ve made peace now but I just wanted to get some input from our listeners out there. I wanna know that I’m not the only one in the world who says this but Troy pointed out to me this week that I have a habit of using this improper phrase, he says it’s improper.
Troy: Yes.
Lenay: So I like to use the phrase “drive truck”. My uncle drives truck, you need a CDL to drive truck. Those are just some examples of how I use it in a sentence. So, I was like, I’m not sure if my inner redneck is coming out or if this is just because I grew up in Central Pennsylvania, but I’ve been using this phrase my entire life and some people in the office have never heard of it before. So, we had a little debate about it. We did some research online and found out a couple things.
Troy: Yeah, so we decided to take this debate to Facebook and let you truckers weigh in and it was pretty surprising. Lenay certainly isn’t the only one that uses the phrase but I think it’s weird. I don’t think people say “I fly plane” or “I drive car”, but um–
Lenay: “I driver Uber.”
Troy: Yeah so, but we did figure out that it isn’t just a Central PA thing, it definitely–um–a lot of people that responded that they do use the phrase “drive truck” were from Central Pennsylvania but we had some people that were outside of the state that also use that phrase, so I thought that was really interesting and I hope, Lenay, you feel better about your lingo now.
Lenay: Yeah, I do feel a little better knowing there are people out there who speak incorrectly like I do. But anyway, I wrote a blog about it, so if you’re online go to AllTruckJobs.com, check out my blog. It’s not all about just me talking incorrectly, but it also incorporates some trucking lingo in there so just other phrases that truck drivers say that maybe the rest of the world doesn’t understand when they say it. So, check it out, it was a fun blog to write and I hope you enjoy it. And if you want to chime in on the drive truck debate hashtag Big Rig Banter to chat with us.
Troy: But yeah, let’s dive into today’s topic. You know, last month, Lenay and I were talking about our healthy or unhealthy habits. We were talking about trucker fitness and staying healthy on the road. So, we figured we’d segway into another aspect of health which is smoking while driving.
Lenay: Yeah, it is really hard to quit smoking while driving. I know a lot of you out there listening have probably considered quitting smoking, tried and failed. Maybe you just want to cut back, so this episode is for you. If you want to quit smoking, there are a lot of resources out there for truck drivers and we try to tap into a few of those.
Troy: Yeah, we talked to two great guests. Our first guest that I spoke with was Julia Dilan, she heads up the Rigs without Cigs campaign for St. Christopher’s Trucking Fund. This is a great campaign, they offer tips and resources and even kind of guide you through the quitting process and Lenay actually spoke with someone who went through that process as well.
Lenay: Yeah, and so he was actually able to quit smoking, so he’ll give you guys some tips as well for how to quit smoking while driving.
Troy: Yeah, and it’s definitely a tough issue and for those truckers who are out there who are looking to quit smoking we’re hoping we can provide some resources and some tips with this podcast. But why don’t we get into our first interview? Again, we’re talking with Julie Dillan from the Rigs without Cigs campaign. So, let’s give that a listen.
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Troy: Alright, I’m here with Julie Dillan. She’s the coordinator for Rigs without Cigs from St. Christopher’s Truckers Relief Fund. Julie, how are you?
Julie: I’m doing great today, how are you?
Troy: I’m doing pretty good. So, yeah, we’re talking about truckers quitting smoking and I know the last time you guys were on our podcast you had mentioned Rigs Without Cigs, but why don’t you tell our listeners kind of how this campaign came about, and how long you’ve been involved in it, and what it’s all about.
Julie: Well, as part of the St. Christopher’s Trucker’s Relief Fund, one of the things we are very passionate about is preventative health and that means coming up with new programs to be able to help drivers on the front end so that hopefully we can help them get healthy ahead of time and not have to need our assistance, you know, when a life-changing medical problem has occurred in the life of a driver. So, we created the Rigs Without Cigs program, and what that is it is a tobacco cessation program. So, we help drivers, not necessarily with just smoking, it could be with dipping or chewing as well, and so we take the information that they give us and we are able to tailor a program that is designed specifically for that driver to be able to help them to no longer either smoke, dip, or chew. We started the program in September of 2017, so right now we’ve been doing it for right around 18 months and I have been with that program since the inception of it in 2017.
Troy: Awesome, and how do people get involved with this program?
Julie: What they can do is, they go to our website which is TruckersFund.org and there is an icon at the top that says Health and Wellness. If they click on that icon, they will see a little sidebar that out that says Rigs Without Cigs registration and they can just click on that, you register online and it comes directly to us at St. Christopher Fund and we can get started helping them.
Troy: And I know you mentioned it’s kind of tailor-made based on the trucker, what kind of support does the program offer to drivers?
Julie: Well, we actually have two different options of being able to quit. If someone decides they want to go cold turkey, they don’t want any, you know, help doing anything besides just I’m gonna put that down tomorrow, then we offer a book download for them, and well it doesn’t really sound like–oh it’s just a book–it’s actually called How to Quit Smoking the Easy Way and it tells you how to change your mindset to becoming that of a non-smoker and being able to put it down, walk away, and not pick it back up. Then, for those that think “I just don’t know if I’m ready to do that, but I think I can taper off, I can slowly cut back and quit smoking,” we offer something called a Quick Key. And what that is, it sets up for a week where it gives–it’s called phase one–where in that week–well, let me back up, it looks like a little key fob hence it’s called a Quick Key, and in that every time the driver smokes for the first week, they click that button, there’s a little button on it and you just click it, and what that–it’s like a little mini computer inside–and depending on how much that you smoke, then it will allow you to–it says that it tailors it to you–so, someone that smokes, you know, four packs a day it’s gonna take a little bit longer to wean them off than someone who may smoke a pack a day. So, the computer sets it up, tailoring it to how much you normally smoke and then it gradually weans you off. The process takes about a month to do, so you have a month or so, you know three weeks to a month to be able to be completely tobacco-free, if that’s really what you choose to do. In addition to those two options, we do offer as far as weekly or bi-weekly support, depending on where you are in the program, you know through messages, emails, things like that. And then we also have our closed Facebook group, where people can join and get encouragement and support and accountability there, too.
Troy: And I know you mentioned mindset for a lot of these drivers, so what are some main struggles that drivers face while trying to quit smoking. Obviously, it’s for a lot of them I think it’s just something to do while they’re on the road, especially in those long hours.
Julie: Well, you’re correct it is. A lot of it is just boredom. You know, while you’re waiting for that load to be brought on or whether you’re sitting in traffic or you know whatever is going on, it’s just that something that has been accustomed to doing. You get accustomed to living and doing things a certain way and as we all know, change is not easy. Nobody loves change. Well, maybe a few people do, but the majority don’t and it is a huge change. It’s not just a change of “I’m no longer gonna have nicotine in my system” it’s a change of lifestyle because you get accustomed a lot of times to doing things based on what you–or going certain places, or being involved in certain things based on what you do. So all of a sudden “Oh I no longer smoke anymore, I don’t need to tailor my day or anything around certain thoughts or certain places I can go or places where I can eat,” you know different things going on so you have to really realize that it’s not just putting down a cigarette, it’s a change of lifestyle. And that’s not always easy.
Troy: Yeah, speaking of that lifestyle I know why is so important for these truckers? I know a lot of them will say “Oh it’s just the lifestyle that I live, like what’s the big deal?” Many of them, that’s how they survive on the road. Why is it so important to urge these truckers to put the cigarettes down?
Julie: Well, I can spout statistics all day long and tell you “Oh it’s good for your health” and things like that, which it is, it’s definitely good for your health. And it is supposed to be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and people don’t realize, they think “Oh well I might have high blood pressure or I may have diabetes, that’s not going to kill me.” But it actually can, those things can, and smoking will aggravate some of those other things that you have and make them worse. For example, if you have diabetes and you have to go in and you have a sore on your leg or something that’s come up from the diabetes it takes so much longer to heal because you smoke. Smoking inhibits the body from being able to heal itself. It’s so busy fighting the nicotine in the body all of the time and it’s accustomed to working on that that it doesn’t allow other parts of your body to heal the way they’re supposed to. So, if you go in for surgery for something totally unrelated that doesn’t have anything to do with smoking, say you have to have a knee replacement or you know back surgery, you’re going to take much longer to heal and it’s not going to heal as well if you’re smoking just because the body is focusing on trying to repair other things. So I don’t think, sometimes that’s not really thought about. Probably one of the huge things is too is just the cost. You smoke a couple packs a day at five bucks a pack, you’re ten dollars a day and that’s on the low side, you’re looking at a lot of money that you’re putting away each month on this. Think if you took that same amount of money and stuck it to the side somewhere at the end of the year, you could buy a car, buy a good used car, buy a boat, buy a condo somewhere. You could put a down payment on a house, you know lots of things that people just don’t really consider because when you’re just doing you know a little bit here or a little bit there it doesn’t seem like much money, but when you take that money even over a month it adds up and I know we had one guy that said, now that he’s been in the program for over a year and he’s quit smoking and stuff his wife let him buy a boat. Another one said they went and bought several weeks worth of a time-share somewhere and now they’re traveling six weeks out of the year to different places all over the country with the money he saved from smoking. So, you know, not only do you see all the health benefits, you see all the benefits of being able to do and go and have more than you would when you’re smoking or dipping.
Troy: And Julie I know you guys have a lot of information online and again, I hope our listeners make sure to check out that but give me maybe three quick tips you have for drivers who are trying to quit smoking, maybe three little things that they can at least start to do.
Julie: Right, well the oral–well I want to call it fixation–but the oral component of smoking is large you know, even if you’re not, if you have the nicotine out of your system, a lot of times it’s that oral thing, it has something to do with your fingers, the hand to mouth addiction. So, have a replacement handy for when you feel like you want to have that cigarette. Whether it be toothpicks or sugar-free gum or low-calorie candy, things like that, healthy snacks, something that food to put in your mouth in place of a cigarette. Another thing that we tell people that we tell people, it may sound silly but I swear by it, is you can do some deep breathing and yoga exercises in the truck while you’re sitting in traffic, now obviously not when you’re going down the road but there are lots of different things that you can do to help with stretching and moving, and deep breathing that really will help you get over that hump with they’re wanting that cigarette.
Troy: Yeah, that’s actually a great point. Listeners, we did just recently do a podcast all about health while on the road and we spoke with actually Mother Trucker Yoga, it’s a trucking and yoga company and they had some great tips as well so listeners make sure to give that podcast episode a listen as well.
Julie: Yeah, we love Mother Trucker Yoga, Hope Zvara is a big supporter of ours, she does things for us as far as putting things on our Facebook page and giving us tips and tricks and things and so you know, they are very much a part of this thing. It’s super fun and we’re glad to have them on board as well and they can really help with this. They help with helping drivers to no longer smoke. You know one of the things I did want to share too is you know, people ask well is it successful? Are you really seeing any success and we are. In 18 months we’ve had 68 people that have completely quit smoking.
Troy: Awesome!
Juile: And you know, that’s a life change. Someone’s life could have been extended, I don’t know I mean we don’t know what the future holds for each person, but knowing that we made a difference in that many lives is huge. And we’ve had another 66 people that said they’ve cut back by at least half.
Troy: Yeah, and speaking of that we’re gonna speak to one of those 68 people. We’re gonna speak with Chan Martinez shortly. Is there–can you give us a little background on him? I know you worked closely with him, and it seems like the program has given him a lot of success.
Julie: Yeah, Chan has been in the program just about since the inception of the program. He, you know, utilized what we offered and through the support of us and other people he was able to completely walk away from smoking and has been smoke-free now for almost a year. And he has become somewhat of an ambassador for us as far the Rigs Without Cigs program because he stays involved to be on the Facebook page, to offer support and offer encouragement for those who are just now starting and getting into it and saying “Hey, if I can do it, anybody can do it”. And I think you’ll really enjoy being able to talk with him, too. He’s a great guy and we’re just glad to have us on board with us.
Troy: Yeah, that’s awesome. Lenay is gonna be talking with Chan shortly here, so listeners make sure to stick around for that interview. Julie, I thank you so much for coming on the show, is there anything else you’d like to add.
Julie: Just that if you’re out there and you’re listening to us and you want to know how to you know, start in the program or you have questions, you can go to TruckersFund.org to register or you can call our office at the St Christopher phone line, it’s 865-202-9428 and we’ll answer questions for you. And just remember, it’s all about your mindset. Make up your mind and do it. You can do it.
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Troy: Alright, and once again a big thanks to Julie Dillan from the Rigs Without Cigs campaign and remember folks if you want to get in touch with us, use the hashtag #BigRigBanter on all social media. If you have any comments, suggestions, just want to banter with Lenay and I on social media, feel free to reach out to us that way. But, let’s just jump right into things. Lenay spoke with Chan Martinez and he actually went through he Rigs Without Cigs campaign, so let’s hear what he has to say.
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Lenay: Hi, this is Lenay and I am here today with Chan Martinez. Chan is a truck driver and he is currently a non-smoker. Chan, how are you today?
Chan: I’m doing great, how are you?
Lenay: I’m pretty good. So, why don’t you give our listeners a little background about yourself? Just how long you’ve been driving truck and you know, how long you were a smoker.
Chan: Okay, I got my CDL back in 1998, so that’s going on a little over 20 years now that I’ve been in the driving profession. So, it was local the last five years have been over the road.
Lenay: Okay.
Chan: And I started smoking when I was about 17, I turned 42 this past September, so it’s about 25 years if my math is correct, that I smoked. And I haven’t had a cigarette since 2018.
Lenay: Wow, that’s amazing! Congratulations!
Chan: Thank you, thank you. It hasn’t always been easy but I’ve managed.
Lenay: I know, I know, I know people who said they quit 20, 30 years ago and they still have cravings for cigarettes and that just blows my mind. You know, when they smell one or whatever, so that’s definitely a hard thing to quit.
Chan: Well and for me, the smell turns me off. I’m disgusted by the smell now, for some reason I don’t what it is but yeah if I walk by somebody smoking I can definitely tell if they have smoked or they’re smoking because it’s very predominant to me. I guess I’m more sensitive to it now and I don’t like it. It’s like, now I know what other people dealt with when I was smoking, and I’m sorry to those people who I offended.
Lenay: Yeah, no, well that’s good for you that I turns you off and doesn’t make you want one.
Chan: Yeah.
Lenay: So, was smoking something you did while you were driving then?
Chan: Yes, and in my previous attempts that was one of the biggest issues and even initially when I started my journey last April, that was one of the biggest issues for me because I was so used to smoking while driving down the road. That was one of the biggest issues for me. I could handle not having a cigarette with a cup of coffee, or having a beer and not having a cigarette, but for some reason the driving down the road, that was when I would have more of my cravings.
Lenay: Well and you know I drove across the country once, by myself, which you know was a lot of fun but I never thought about how challenging it would be to just like stay focused. You know, I’m like it’s only 12 hours from here to here, so you kind of want something to do. My thing was I would like snack the whole time.
Chan: I’ve done that, too.
Lenay: I remember I bought like carrots and hummus and a couple hours into it I was like forget this, I’m going to Wendy’s.
Chan: Yeah.
Lenay: But so I can see where while you’re driving if you are a smoker it just gives you something to do, to like stay alert or you know or whatever, other than just staring at the road. Do you do anything different now that you don’t smoke while you’re driving? I mean, hopefully you’re not snacking like crazy, but–
Chan: I go through phases where I will snack while I’m driving, but overall not really. I’m to a point now where I don’t even really miss it while I’m driving so, I still got my bag of candy that I used to–one of the things that I used when I first–I used starlight mints, life savers, jolly ranchers, dum-dum suckers, and different other types of mints to help. And then also mint gum, and then yeah, I’ve gone through phases off and on since then where I’ll wanna eat everything I can.
Lenay: Yeah, no, I can definitely relate to that. That kind of brings us into what tips would you give someone who is trying to quit smoking? I mean what worked for you, what did you do when you first started?
Chan: Okay, well one of the biggest things that helped me was one, I started cutting back before I quit.
Lenay: Right.
Chad: I went from about a pack a day to about 3/4 of a pack a day, and then I just went cold turkey. Now as a Christian, and I’m not trying to force this on anybody so please don’t take it that way–
Lenay: Of course.
Chan: One of the biggest things that helped me was, I felt that God was telling me I needed to quit and so I got into an agreement with God and said “Okay, I’ll do what I can, but I’m gonna need your help,” because I don’t know how many previous times I tried to quit and would only last a month, maybe six weeks, you know something like that and I’d go back to smoking again. And, so like if I’m gonna do it I’ll do it, and I’ll do all I can, but I wanna be done with it this time, I don’t want to end up going back. And, so April 25th when I asked, after I had my last cigarette, and even before that I told God that, if you help me I’ll make this my last pack. And I haven’t had a cigarette since that pack.
Lenay: That’s awesome.
Chan: I spent a lot of time in prayer, like then I had the candy and I had the mints, drank a lot of water.
Lenay: Okay, that’s good.
Chan: I had some snacks, you know and there were times that if I–and the other things that I would do at certain milestones, like when I hit like a month, I bought–I do a lot of my own cooking on the truck.
Lenay: Okay.
Chan: And so I bought a nice steak and baked potato, had a nice baked potato and steak dinner as a way to treat myself. I cooked it myself. There are other times that I’ve gone out and had a nice dinner at, you know, well what you can get nice at a truck job, at a restaurant. At times I’ll do that to celebrate, you know treat myself to a nice dinner at the restaurant at the truck stop, you know at certain milestones.
Lenay: Well yeah, and that makes sense, yeah.
Chan: Just to you know to celebrate the you know, months, and two months, and three months, and four months you know, and so forth. And then I also thank God every day that I’m still cigarette-free going on 10 months now.
Lenay: Yeah, and then you think about, you know, you’re talking about buying steak dinners
and stuff, I mean you’re saving a lot of money by not smoking cigarettes.
Chan: And then I look at some of the prices I’ve seen for cigarettes in some of the states I go to and it’s like I’m glad I don’t have to pay that anymore.
Lenay: Yeah.
Chan: It’s such a freeing feeling to know that I’m not owned by that habit anymore. And that’s–and I like that–and then back to the smell, my food is tasting better to me now. And I mean getting back to prices, I’ve seen cigarettes as high as almost 10 bucks a pack in certain states
Lenay: Right, yeah. Oh yeah.
Chan: And so I see those prices and it’s like I’m glad I don’t have to pay that anymore.
Lenay: Yeah, I know that really adds up.
Chan: Yeah, it does. And I was spending roughly–because I used to smoke Pall malls and they’re usually between 5 and 6 bucks a pack, depending on where you get them–and I was smoking about a pack a day. At one point I was a pack and a half, that was when I was going through my divorce, and then the divorce became final and I went back to about a pack and then down to 3/4 and then quit.
Lenay: Did you, so you’ve quit 10 months ago, do you feel other health benefits, like you said your food’s tasting better, but have you noticed anything else since you quit smoking?
Chan: I’ve noticed–we’ll I’ve been doing, in the last probably what, 3 or 4 weeks I’ve also been trying to get out and walk 3 or 4 times a week as much as I can, at the end of the day after I park. And I’ve noticed, like when I first started it, when I first started walking, I went for about a 2.5 mile walk and I didn’t get winded like I did when I was smoking.
Lenay: Okay.
Chan: And it was very nice to not, to be able to walk and not have to stop all the time to catch my breath. And now, if I’m in a higher elevation or different elevation, there are sometimes I’ll get a little winded but it’s still not quite as bad as it was when I was smoking.
And I’ve noticed, I also keep track of my blood pressure because I–April of, or May, or April of 2017 I was found to have blood pressure issues.
Lenay: Okay.
Chan: And got put on blood pressure meds for that and so forth, and so I got a little blood pressure monitor and I’ve been able to keep track of my readings on my blood pressure through that and it’s been since I quit it’s been staying in the more normal ranges now, but I’m still on my medication, too.
Lenay: Yeah, I mean the health benefits to quitting smoking are just unbelievable, but a lot of times you know, people don’t think about that until it’s so pressing that they don’t have a choice.
Chan: Yeah.
Lenay: Yeah.
Chan: And that’s–I didn’t want to get to that point. I wanted to you know, I always knew all along that it was bad and should quit and I wanted to quit, and I’ll admit there was part of me that was at a point where I was like I’ve tried so many times and I’ve failed, I guess I’m just supposed to smoke.
Lenay: Right, right.
Chan: And I kinda–and then I started listening to JOEL OSTEEN, and some of his messages especially right around just before I was quitting and he was like “you may have had that addiction since high school, why not try again? you just–this might be the time that you break it.” And I felt something inside of me say that’s for you so I was like okay, well that’s when I started getting real with God, so to speak, and saying that if that’s what you want me to do I’ll quit but I’m going to need your help. And he has really exceeded my expectations because he really did make it pretty easy for me in a lot of ways.
Lenay: Yeah, and I’ve heard that before, you know people when they’re trying to quit an addiction, like if you try several times you know, usually you don’t succeed on the first try and it’s kind of like every time you quit, you’re practicing, you know and you learn a little bit more about the process of quitting. So, eventually, you’re like, okay I got this.
Chan: Yeah, and the other thing that has also helped this is that I’m not around other people that smoke. When I’m home, my parents, my mom and step-dad don’t smoke. Other family members I have that I’m around when I’m home don’t smoke, so I’m not around it, so there’s that temptation. And then, obviously the only one in my truck and other people that I work with like when I’m at my office, my company’s headquarters, they don’t really, there’s nobody there that smokes. So, I’m not around it, so that helps.
Lenay: Yeah, that really helps because if you’re like, you know trying to quit smoking and the people you hang out with every day are still smoking that’s really hard.
Chan: And my mom did smoke for several years, she smoked, she actually smoked and she chewed.
Lenay: Okay.
Chan: And then, it’s been 10 years since she’s had any type of nicotine, whether it be tobacco, chew, or cigarettes. And my step-dad, as far as I know he’s never smoked or chewed or done anything like that.
Lenay: Yeah, so that helps.
Chan: Yeah. And both of them have been a big encouragement to me, and supporting me and encouraging me to quit. You know, and along my way and my boss, the guy that actually owns the company that I drive for, he actually, when I hit 90 days, gave me a $300 Visa gift card for quitting smoking.
Lenay: Wow, that is awesome!
Chan: Yeah. That was completely unexpected, he kept saying when you get 90 days tell me, so I figured he was up to something but I didn’t know what and then I hit 90 days and the next time I was up a Sioux Falls where our company is based out of, he hands me this card and he wrote “Congratulations on quitting smoking” and it was gift card for $300. And my jaw about hit the floor.
Lenay: Yeah.
Chan: And I really was not expecting that.
Lenay: Yeah. And he’s also offered a lot of encouraging words and you know, support in my journey to quit smoking as well. And he’s also a former smoker.
Lenay: So he gets it.
Chan: Yeah.
Lenay: So how does Rigs Without Cigs play into all of this? How did you get connected with
them?
Chan: It was April–it was August of 2017 when I first saw about the program on Facebook. Somehow it popped up on my news feed, that is was a program.
Lenay: Because Facebook’s always listening, right?
Chan: Yeah. So I was like, okay. And I thought okay, let me go ahead and sign up for it. I signed up for it and I was gonna start my journey on September first of that year, to quit smoking.
Lenay: Okay.
Chan: That was before I found out that my now ex-wife was having an affair and had let a storage unit with a lot of irreplaceable family heirlooms get sold.
Lenay: Geez, so that makes you want a cigarette.
Chan: That’s when I went from about a pack a day to a pack and half a day, smoking. And then I felt guilty because here I am in this program to try and quit smoking and I’ve actually increased. And then I was able to move down to about a pack a day. And I just was like I really need to focus on trying to quit, just getting myself prepped up for it and then April 25th I quit, had my last cigarette, it was around like 4 o’clock central time in the afternoon when I had my last cigarette on April 25th.
Lenay: And you knew it was gonna be your last cigarette.
Chan: Yeah. Because I had already said that I want this to be my last pack. That morning there was probably maybe about half a pack in that pack when I started that morning. And–that day just really tried to space them out.
Lenay: I was gonna ask that.
Chan: And then, it was like I parked and it was like 4 o’clock. I had eaten, had my last cigarette, and I haven’t had one since.
Lenay: That’s awesome, congratulations.
Chan: Thank you. And then–so that’s how I got started with Rigs Without Cigs was I saw it on Facebook and I signed up for it and then joined the–there was a page called, or group for Rigs Without Cigs Facebook group and I’m still in the group and I try to offer encouraging words and support and tips to the group, to others that are trying to quit, just like others encouraged me and then every so often I’ll–what I did was I googled (this a little while after I had my last cigarette) I googled how long it had been from that day that I googled it to April 25th.
Lenay: Right.
Chan: And then I screenshot it and every so often and I bookmark it so every so often I’ll look and bring that up and it’ll say how long it’s been since April 25th and I’ll screenshot it and I’ll post it in the group as a way to encourage, to show others “Hey, you can quit, I am proof. I’ve done it this far”. You know, and I usually get some congratulations from others that have been longer or maybe a little less but they’re encouraged. And I post, you know when I post it, I always put “this is to encourage you that are struggling that it can be done, I am proof that it can be done and you know, you can quit and not to give up, so.
Lenay: Right, because even fellow smokers will be like “Well, you don’t understand, you know, this or that.” But, you know, I think the cool thing about Rigs Without Cigs is it’s like you’re all truck drivers, you all have the same experience where you’re alone on the road, you know you depend on them as like something to pass the time so it can’t–it’s not like you don’t you know, have the same situation, yeah.
Chan: Yeah. And that’s what some of the other drivers have said that one of their biggest issues was–has been having something to do while driving down the road.
Lenay: Right.
Chan: And a lot of them, even them, have overcome. I think there’s been quite a few that have actually benefitted from–have either quit or and or cut back by half their tobacco use since signing up for the program. So that’s, you know, I don’t know the exact numbers, Julie probably knows better than I do but I know there have been a lot of people that have had success and that’s why they’ve kept the program going is because of the success they’ve had. That’s my understanding of it, anyway so.
Lenay: So just to recap, I mean what are some tips or tactics like you know, that you hear, you used or you hear from them? Like we talked about snacking but is there anything–like candy–is there anything else that you’ve heard people use that maybe you didn’t use but you were like “oh, that could work, too” or “that’s a good idea”.
Chan: I’ve heard of people getting flavored toothpicks and chewing on them.
Lenay: Oh yeah?
Chan: Cinnamon or mint flavored toothpicks, or even I guess for that matter you can use regular toothpicks. I know a guy who just uses regular toothpicks and he’d always chew on a toothpick. So that might work. Like I said the starlight mints, jolly ranchers, life savers, dum dum suckers, those are things that helped me. I also used the spearmint icebreakers mints and the different flavors of mint gums that helped. And just id you really wanna quit just set your mind to it, start cutting–try and cut back, that’s what I did. I cut back and then when–and then I just finally went cold turkey after cutting back for a bit. And just, if you got some family, friends, that you can talk to that will help you, encourage you, get into some sort of a support group, like there’s the Rigs Without Cigs program, I have a young lady friend who’s not a driver but she’s wanted to quit smoking and I actually got permission from Julie to add her to the group so she can get some tips on how to quit smoking.
Lenay: Awesome. Yeah, you gotta stick together, right?
Chan: Yeah, so you know, it’s–you can find a group that will offer support and encouragement, a family member or friend or friends that you can talk to that will help you and if you start cutting back just have something to replace those craving so you’re not reaching for a cigarette. Instead of reaching for a cigarette, reach for whatever you have.
Lenay: Right, right.
Chan: Toothpick, candy, sucker, whatever. You know. And just start spacing your cigarettes out more and then you know, and just have a strong mind. You gotta stay determined, that’s the biggest thing is just staying determined and you can overcome it.
Lenay: Absolutely. Is there anything else that you’d like to add before we jump off the call?
Chan: If you’re listening and you’re struggling, and you wanna quit or you’re struggling to try and quit, just hang in there. It’s well worth it, you’ll get through it. You can, I’m living proof that some people can quit smoking. I’ve made it ten months and I know if I can, anybody can because there was a time I didn’t think I could and it’s been ten months, roughly ten months now, since I quit so it’s possible to quit and overcome being addicted to cigarettes. So just hang in there, stay strong, you can make it.
Lenay: Well thank you so much Chan, and congratulations on ten months smoke-free.
Chan: Thank you, I’m glad to be a part of it and I just–you know, Julie asked me and I just hope that my, what I have can help at least one person. It’s worth it if it can help one person.
Music
Lenay: Alrighty, so thanks again to Chan for giving us those tips on how to quit smoking. So, to recap, if you want to quit smoking or are just looking to cut back, check out Rigs Without Cigs website. There’s a lot of resources on there for you, and as far as Chan goes, some things that really helped him quit smoking were finding something else do instead of smoking, like maybe sucking on candy, getting some toothpicks, you know just something else to do while you’re driving. Rewarding himself he said really helps so treating himself to a nice dinner once he hit some milestones like one month, two months, six months, things like that. And then most importantly, finding people in your life who are supportive and can help you, you know give you someone to talk to while you’re on the road and something else to think about other than those cigarettes.
Troy: Alright and once again thank you to all our guests, remember to like, share, and subscribe to our podcast. I’m your co-host, Troy Diffenderfer.
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host, Lenay Ruhl.
Troy: And this has been Big Rig Banter.
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