Still They Quit Smoking; Still We Cheer

Some smokers continue to puff (boo!), but many continue toquit (rah!). Here's the latest crop of readers who have joined ourSuper Stoppers Club. They get the proverbial nice warm feeling and anon-proverbial pat on the back right here among the comics.

Bob Orr, of Fairfax Station, is about to celebrate his 20thanniversary as a quitter. He climbed the mountain at 27, with themoral support of an office mate, Marty Mueller. The two men attendedweekly meetings together and kept each other on the straight andnarrow. Well done, Bob and Marty.

Speaking of moral support, recent quitter David S. Brown, ofVienna, says he's getting plenty via a chat site on the Internet. Herecommends cybersupport to one and all.Patrick Boline, of Silver Spring, would like to sound a cheerfor his wife, Erin. When they married in November 1995, Erin cutdown from a pack a day to "only a few cigarettes," Patrick says. InOctober, Erin stopped entirely when she learned that a young Bolinewas on the way. Patrick says he wants "the whole world to know howproud I am" of a woman who had puffed since high school.Allen Lind gets not only a smoke-free future but a largethank-you from his wife, Dorothy, and their children, Kayleigh, 3,and Courtney, 1. The nicotine patch did the job for Allen, aftercold-turkeying and nicotine gum did not.Helane Di Gravio, of Gaithersburg, says cold-turkeying did dothe trick for her husband, Ricardo. He was a two-pack-a-day manuntil Nov. 6, 1992. "He still dreams about it," says Helane, but noone ever choked to death from dreaming.Fear got Al Torelli, of Annandale, to see the light. In April1993, when Al was 64, he landed in the emergency room with an attackof gallstones. The doctors said they might have been brought aboutby smoking, according to Al's daughter, Rita Swift, of Leesburg.That was all Al needed.Rita has another nominee in the family -- husband Gerry Swift.Gerry quit through a combination of nicotine gum and hypnosis. Ritasays he helps keep himself on the path of righteousness by vigorousworkouts, including weightlifting.Steven M. Levine, of Arlington, tips his cap to his wife,Patricia M. Petersilia. She has been smoke-free for a decade.Frank Quinn says his best friend, Marco Calderon, of Bethesda,wants to stay smokeless but needs the motivation that only a littlepublicity can provide. We hereby give Marco his ink. Hang in there,friend.Jean Jolkovski, of Arlington, says money chased him away fromthe evil weed. When he started smoking during World War II, a packof cigarettes cost a nickel. The day Jean arrived home in Seattle,he discovered that he was "low on smokes." He found a vendingmachine, "but they wanted 15 cents a pack! Horrors! So I quit andnever backslid."You've got to love Michael Miller's story -- and the will ofhis doctor, John Umhau, of Kensington.Twenty-seven years ago, Michael called Dr. Umhau to complainabout an unshakable cough. "Are you still smoking?" asked thedoctor. Michael replied that he was. "Call me when you quit," saidthe doc. Then he hung up. Michael was so stunned that he quit onthe spot.Will played a big part in Kevin Moriarty's decision to quit,too. He had smoked a pack a day for 23 years. During most of thosesame years, he had wanted a Jeep but had never gotten around tobuying one. Thus was born a quid pro quo. "I made a deal withmyself. If I quit smoking, I could have the Jeep," Kevin says. Hesoon drove a new one off the lot and hasn't lit up a cigarettesince.Ellen Nelson says she never could have stayed tobacco-free for11 years without the encouragement of a co-worker, James Battle.Meanwhile, Ken and Paula Wray, of Potomac, offered spouselikeencouragement to each other. When Paula left for work on the morningof Nov. 11, 1991, she told her husband that she wasn't taking hercigarettes with her to work. Ken replied that if she stopped thatday, he would, too. Both Wrays have been cigarette-less since.Another married couple stepped up for each other. Laura HowardMayer nominates her brother, Lee Howard, and his wife, Louise. Theyquit together on their first anniversary (Sept. 21, 1997). So far,so smokeless, Laura reports.When Jodi Himmelfarb married in June, her mother, Marilyn, wason hand, and all smiles. But Marilyn almost didn't make it, in anysense of the phrase. She nearly died of emphysema and pneumonia inlate 1996 after smoking for most of her life. The two weeks Marilynspent in intensive care persuaded her that cigarettes were killingher, Jodi says. She hasn't smoked since. "Please know that it'sworth it for all your loved ones," Jodi says.Finally for this batch, Terry Frith congratulates her golfingbuddy, Lee Bright. Lee kicked the habit instead of the bucket abouttwo years ago. Golf goes on. So will Lee, Terry says -- and bothwomen know why.Got a nominee for our Super Stoppers Club? Please mail detailsto Bob Levey, The Washington Post, Washington, D.C. 20071, fax themto 202-334-5150 or e-mail them to leveyb@washpost.com.