Your story matters. Your voice matters.

Every journey is different, and every story has the power to inspire change. Whether you've quit tobacco, are taking steps toward quitting, supported a loved one, or experienced the impact of tobacco use firsthand, your voice can help others feel seen, supported, and encouraged.

At the DC Tobacco Free Coalition, we believe personal experiences are an important part of building a healthier, tobacco-free DC. By sharing our stories, we can raise awareness, celebrate progress, reduce stigma, and remind others that they are not alone.

Have a story of your own? We'd love to hear it! Share your experience using the form below for an opportunity to be featured on our website and social media. Together, we can inspire hope, encourage change, and help shape a tobacco-free future for our community.

Featured Stories

MY JOURNEY TO A TOBACCO-FREE LIFE

By Johnnie Walker

My journey with smoking began during childhood, without my understanding that it would eventually lead to a lifelong addiction.

As a child, I would walk down the street behind adults while they smoked. When they threw their cigarettes on the ground, some of the children walking behind them, including me would pick them up and take a puff. After doing this repeatedly, I became a smoker. By the time I started elementary school, I had begun stealing cigarettes.

I lived with my grandmother, who never smoked, but my mother smoked Pall Malls. Whenever I could, I would take a few cigarettes from her pack. My oldest sister smoked Kools, so I always had an ample supply. My greatest challenge was finding matches!

Whenever my friends and I went outside to play, we smoked. Surprisingly, no one at home ever caught me. Because several people smoked inside the house, the smell of cigarette smoke was already on everything. Although I could smell smoke on other people, no one ever questioned whether I was smoking.

I smoked throughout grade school. Once, a woman saw several of us coming out of an alley across from the school. She saw smoke coming from my mouth and reported me. When the school contacted my grandmother, I denied smoking and claimed that another girl walking with us had been the one smoking.

By then, I had developed a serious habit. I needed a cigarette after every meal, and it was becoming harder to sneak around. Finding matches was often more difficult than getting cigarettes.

My addiction became so powerful that I continued smoking even after undergoing lung surgery. I stopped for a couple of months following the surgery because smoking made me short of breath, but I eventually started again. Over the years, I was offered nicotine patches, gum, nasal sprays, and smoking-cessation classes. I sometimes continued smoking while trying these methods because I had not yet been able to break the addiction.

Altogether, I smoked for more than 50 years.

The COVID-19 pandemic motivated me to seriously consider quitting. Stores were closing, and people were dying from respiratory illnesses. I prayed and asked God to give me strength because I knew I could not overcome the addiction on my own.

When I reached my final pack of cigarettes, the closest store to me closed. I began planning how I would quit and decided to limit myself to four cigarettes a day, one every six hours.

The withdrawal was overwhelming. I could not think clearly, rest, or eat normally. I became obsessed with watching the clock and waiting for my next cigarette. Because I was afraid to travel far from home during the pandemic, I stayed inside and tried to endure it.

The first week was extremely difficult. I could not sleep, my heart raced, and I became very irritable. During the second week, I contacted the smoking-cessation program at the health department. I had participated in the program years earlier and was still in its system, so the staff was able to provide nicotine patches and support.

The patches helped take the edge off the withdrawal. By the time I ran out of cigarettes, I had committed myself to moving forward without them. I also had to change my familiar routines. At first, I could not drink coffee, eat certain meals, or participate in activities that I had always associated with smoking.

After about a month, I trained my mind to remember that if I smoked again, I would have to begin the entire quitting process all over. I did not want to relive those painful first weeks.

Living alone made the experience especially difficult. I was already afraid of COVID-19, and I had to navigate quitting without anyone physically present to support me. Losing access to cigarettes was difficult, but clearing my mind of the desire to smoke was an even greater challenge. That process took about a year.

One of the first things I noticed was how strongly my clothes smelled of smoke. The odor had also settled throughout my home, even though I had not smoked inside. I began deep-cleaning my surroundings. The cleaning occupied my mind and helped me recognize that I was truly creating a new life for myself.

After the first year, I was no longer as anxious. Being around smokers remained difficult, and the smell of smoke sometimes triggered the desire to return to cigarettes, but I did not go back.

To anyone who wants to quit, I would say this: classes, patches, gum, counseling, and other resources can provide important support, but the journey begins when you make the decision in your heart and mind that it is time to quit. Be patient with yourself because recovery takes time. Work with a healthcare professional or tobacco-cessation specialist to find a safe plan that meets your needs.

It has now been more than five years, and I remain tobacco-free. Like recovery from other addictions, maintaining a tobacco-free life requires an ongoing commitment. I continue to work on it one day at a time.

Quitting smoking was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Today, I feel free.