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"&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Our commitment to quit smoking permanently is much easier to sustain when we have strong, positive support around us. Friends and family can be helpful, but may not understand the depth of what quitting smoking means to the person working their way through cessation, especially if they&amp;amp;#39;ve never smoked. We can be left feeling as though we are not getting acknowledged for the hard work we&amp;amp;#39;re putting into cessation.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/an-open-letter-to-non-smoking-family-and-friends-2825204&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Helping Friends and Family Quit Smoking&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The support forum here at About.com Smoking Cessation is a unique environment that has helped many a quitter find permanent freedom from nicotine addiction over the years.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://forums.delphiforums.com/quit_smoking&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; rel=&amp;quot;nofollow&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;About Smoking Cessation Support Forum&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;This forum is a vibrant community of people at all stages of smoking cessation, from the newly quit to those who have several smoke-free years under their belts. Please join us and make your dreams of quitting tobacco permanently come true!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Next: &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/smoking-cessation-forum-moderators-2824797&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Meet your Host and Moderators&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Forum ID:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;AbQuitSmking&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Nickname:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; T. / Terry&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Quit Date:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;October 29, 2001&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/if-you-want-to-change-your-life-change-your-mind-2824517&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Terry&amp;amp;#39;s Quit Story&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;I am Terry Martin, your host at the\u00A0&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://forums.delphiforums.com/quit_smoking&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; rel=&amp;quot;nofollow&amp;quot;&amp;gt;About Smoking Cessation support forum&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;This active community of people from all over the world come together with an important shared goal -- quitting tobacco and saving lives.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;I&amp;amp;#39;ve always said that the best of our human spirit is alive and well within the virtual walls of this community, and it&amp;amp;#39;s the truth. The give-and-take between forum members comes straight from the heart and has the ability to lift us up and out of the prison of nicotine addiction. If you&amp;amp;#39;re new to online support, please take some time to browse the forum as a guest. You&amp;amp;#39;ll quickly see why the support here is so special, and how it might help you find a way to put smoking in your past, &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;permanently&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;I&amp;amp;#39;d like to take a moment to introduce you to the team of moderators who help keep this large online community running smoothly. Each of them quit smoking with the help of this forum, and have plenty of personal experience and knowledge to share in the area of smoking cessation.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Behind the scenes, the moderators and I work closely together to create and maintain the safe and healthy environment for healing you all count on. And because each of them brings his or her own unique outlook to the table, I can always rely on seeing the whole picture in a balanced way -- invaluable for me and for this forum.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;So, without further ado, let&amp;amp;#39;s get on with the introductions!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Forum ID: &amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;ModMic&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Nickname:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; Mic&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Quit Date:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; January 13, 2002&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/michelles-quit-smoking-story-2825190&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Michelle&amp;amp;#39;s Quit Story&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Michelle found the About.com Smoking Cessation forum a full year into her quit program. Her first online support experience was at another site run by former Guide to About.com Smoking Cessation, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/keep-trying-until-you-succeed-2824506&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Christine Rowley&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. That site was called &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;The No Smoke Cafe&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;, and when it folded, Michelle joined us here. She has been with us ever since (and will be forevermore if I have anything to say about it!).&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Michelle is one of those rare people who quit smoking on the first try. She used the &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/nicotine-patch-nrts-nicotine-replacement-therapy-2825024&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;nicotine patch&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, online support, and plenty of faith. Her posts are insightful, compassionate and always worth reading. She is a glass half-full kind of person whose big heart and ability to empathize are a blessing for the people of this forum.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Michelle suffers from degenerative disc disease, a painful condition that she manages with grace. Smoking is a risk for this disease, and she has written about her journey with it, along with several other essays geared toward helping others quit smoking. They can all be accessed through the link to her quit smoking story above.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Forum ID:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; ModDee&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Nickname:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; Dee&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Quit Date:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; March 18, 2003&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/things-ive-learned-along-the-way-2824547&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Dee&amp;amp;#39;s 6 Month Milestone&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;I think of Dee as a deep well of strength. She has a quiet dignity about her and a straight forward, caring way of communicating with others. She weathered some significant storms in her life during the first year of smoking cessation, but they only worked to fortify her resolve.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Another one of our moderators with a gift for writing, Dee has shared some powerful accounts of how smoking cessation changed her life.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;From Dee:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#34;With an almost 2 pack a day addiction; with a chest cold and horrible coughing that suggested that someone needed to take pity on me and make an immediate call to an ambulance service; there I was sitting on the side of the bed with a cigarette dangling from my mouth and lighter in hand trying to breath shallow little breaths so I wouldn\u2019t cough my fool head off while lighting my first cigarette of the day.&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#34;Something snapped. I took a long hard look at the cigarette and lighter and threw them across the room. The rage that I felt was fierce. After smoking for more than 30 years, I hated it!&amp;amp;#34;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ul&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/quitting-tobacco-can-be-done-2824923&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Dee&amp;amp;#39;s 4 Year Smoke-Free Milestone&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Dee sees the best in others and is a strong, steady influence at the smoking cessation forum. I am grateful for her help as a moderator.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Forum ID:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; ModPenny&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Nickname:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; Penny&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Quit Date:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; April 11, 2011&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;When Penny quit smoking, she kept two cartons of cigarettes in the refrigerator for quite awhile because she didn&amp;amp;#39;t think she would able to quit for the long term. Like most of us, she fervently wanted to leave her addiction to nicotine behind, but lacked the conviction that she could really do it. Not long after though, she found the support forum at About.com Smoking Cessation and everything changed.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;From Penny at 6 months smoke-free:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#34;I am 6 months smoke free and that is after over 40 years of smoking - longer than many of you quitters have been on the planet. I am posting this 6 month post because I CAN...I did it...I am 6 months smoke free! This has been one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had to admit I was an &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/nicotine-addiction-101-2825018&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;addict&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, I had to &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-not-to-say-to-someone-who-has-quit-smoking-2824799&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;own my own quit&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, I had to READ and READ and READ, I had to POST and POST and POST, and I had to reach out to others for help.I had to face the lie that I enjoyed smoking, because I didn&amp;amp;#39;t.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#34;I never really thought that I COULD succeed at smoking cessation. Now, I am not overconfident because I know this is an addiction and an addict can fall at any time, BUT I have knowledge and quit buddies to help me now.&amp;amp;#34;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;It wasn&amp;amp;#39;t long at all before Penny was reaching out to help others find their footing with smoking cessation, and today, years later, she&amp;amp;#39;s still at it. You can count on her to speak from the heart and not mince her words. If you are faltering, she&amp;amp;#39;ll remind you that this journey is tough at times and to stiffen your backbone and get on with it.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Penny is a much-loved member of the support community at About.com Smoking Cessation, and we are very lucky to have her here.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.verywell.com/smoking-cessation-forum-moderators-2824797>