Sam's Story (Sam 的故事)

Sam 的故事

对 Sam 来讲，戒烟并不需要复杂的策略，也无需来自外界的压力。戒烟是他自己下的决心，并且选择坚持。Sam 在 1972 年出生于中国大陆，是一位土木工程师。他抽第一支烟是在 90 年代，那时他在上大学，抽烟是为了合群。一开始他只在社交场合抽烟，但慢慢地，抽烟成了他工作和生活的一部分。

“90 年代的时候，大家都会在上班时抽烟，有时甚至在办公室里抽。那时候，抽烟是中国文化的一部分。大家会在休息时或和同事聊天时抽烟。这种情况很常见。我慢慢变成了每天抽 20 支烟，有时甚至更多。

我一直知道抽烟有害我的健康，但是抽烟也和我的工作和思考紧密相关，可以帮助我集中注意力，最起码我是这么认为的。

2018 年，我和太太女儿移民来到澳大利亚，一切都改变了。环境变了，我的抽烟习惯也发生了巨大的变化。在这里，抽烟不再是人们习以为常的事了，我的家人也不希望我在家里抽烟，而且香烟高昂的价格也让抽烟变得不那么有吸引力了。

我从来没在澳洲买过烟。在抽完仅存的最后一支烟后，我就再也没有买过烟。对我来讲，我决定不再抽了。我没有做任何准备、立任何目标。我选择不再抽烟，仅此而已。”

“刚开始的几天真的不容易。我还是想抽的。但是我继续坚持不抽。

为了让我不去想抽烟的事，我会把我的注意力集中在当下需要做的事情上。大概 10 天到 20 天后，已经没有要抽烟的念头了。”

“突然，我开始意识到一些细微但很重要的改变。我嘴巴里的气味少了，我觉得自己的口腔更干净了，连牙齿都更白了。如果你的牙齿不白，看上去会很脏。如果牙齿干净，让我整个人都感觉良好。

而且我对自己健康的担心也少了。我有一些亲戚，比如我的父亲和祖父，都是因为食道癌而去世的。我不想冒这个险。

我回国和朋友聚会的时候，没忍住抽了几根香烟。但我一回到墨尔本，一切又回到正轨，我不再继续抽烟。

总的来说，戒烟比我想象的更容易。澳洲抽烟的人更少一点，而且让你抽烟的地方也不多。这对戒烟很有帮助。”

“如果你想戒烟，一定要相信自己的意志力，相信自己能够管住自己。”

Sam's story

For Sam, quitting smoking wasn’t about complex strategies or external pressure. It was a controlled decision, and one that he chose to stick with. A civil engineer born in mainland China in 1972, Sam first began smoking in 1990 at university to fit in with friends. What started as the occasional social cigarette soon became a daily activity woven into his work and routine.

Back then, in the 90’s, everyone smoked at work, even in the office. It was part of the culture in China. You’d smoke during breaks and socialise with your colleagues. It was normal. I ended up smoking 20 cigarettes a day, sometimes even more.

I always knew smoking wasn’t good for my health, but it became something tied to thinking and working. It helped keep me focus – or, at least, that’s what I thought.

Everything shifted when I moved to Australia with my wife and daughter in 2018. The change of environment made a huge difference. Smoking wasn’t as common, my family didn’t want it in the house, and the high price of cigarettes here made it less appealing.

I never even bought cigarettes in Australia. When the ones I had ran out, I just didn’t buy any more. That was it for me. I quit cold turkey. I made the choice to stop, there and then.

“The first few days were tough. I still wanted to smoke. But I just kept going and not smoking.

To keep my mind off smoking, I focused on whatever I needed to do at the time. After about 10 to 20 days, I stopped thinking about smoking altogether.”

Then I started to notice small but important changes. My breath felt fresher, my mouth cleaner, and my teeth were whiter. When your teeth aren’t white, they look dirty. It just feels better when they’re clean.

I also felt less worried about my health. Some of my relatives, like my father and grandfather, had died of oesophageal cancer. I didn’t want to take any chances.

I slipped up and smoked again while visiting friends in China one year. But as soon as I returned to Melbourne, I got back on track and stopped smoking again.

Overall, not smoking has been easier than I expected. Fewer people smoke here in Australia and there aren’t many places that you’re allowed to smoke. That helps a lot.

“If you want to quit, believe that you have the strength and the control”.

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Do you want to share your quit story? Email us at quit@quit.org.au. We'd love to hear from you.