By Helen Visco, BSRT, CPFT, RRT

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the U.S., and according to Forbes Health, quitting smoking was the seventh most common resolution for 2024. Despite it landing on the list year after year, it’s one of the most difficult resolutions to keep due to the addicting nature of nicotine. Oftentimes, people who make this resolution resume smoking before the end of January.

Fort Lauderdale resident Lois Robertson is just one of our many success stories at Holy Cross Health who beat those odds. She had been smoking since she was a teenager, but with our help she finally curbed her habit in February.

“I had to stop smoking,” said the 57-year-old who suffers from COPD with asthma overlap. “If you really want to quit, you will quit. I knew I wanted to live. I had to want to do it for me.”

With the help of the team at the Catherine Yardley Comprehensive Pulmonary Center at Holy Cross Health, she completed smoking cessation classes, breathing treatments and yoga classes as her wheezing subsided. She encourages others to get the support needed to overcome smoking addiction.

“The breathing exercises they give you are helpful,” Robertson explained. “As you are walking, you can do the breathing. When you’re sitting down, you can do the breathing. You’ve got to put that pride aside. You have to ask for help.”

Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale helps people put the butt out for good. In conjunction with Nova Southeastern University’s Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program, Holy Cross Health offers evidence-based group smoking cessation classes on-site at the hospital in the COPD clinic and at the Women’s Center. The Courage to Quit: Free Tobacco Cessation Program provides participants with the tools and techniques to quit and remain tobacco-free.

Robertson has encouraging words for others struggling with addiction. “Don’t give up,” she said. “I knew I wanted to live. Do you want to live? Do you love yourself? That’s what it comes down to.”

The free classes are designed to help develop a personalized quit plan and more than double the chances of success. Class topics include coping with triggers and withdrawal symptoms, managing addiction and preventing relapse. In partnership with Tobacco Free Florida, participants can receive a free full month’s supply of nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches, gum or lozenges (if medically appropriate for those 18 years of age or older).

Fort Lauderdale resident Pilar Ward, now 66, also began smoking in her teens. Tired of the uncontrollable coughing and wheezing, she enrolled in Holy Cross Health’s Courage to Quit: Free Tobacco Cessation Program last year. Initially doubtful the program would work for her, much to her pleasant surprise it did. She recently celebrated one year cigarette-free on August 20.

Anyone who wants to stop lighting up and start breathing easier can make an appointment at the Catherine Yardley Comprehensive Pulmonary Center by calling (954) 542-2440 or visiting Holy-cross.com/lungs.

 Helen Visco is COPD Clinic Manager, Holy Cross Health.