by Janet Smellie
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 19/97) - Smokers vowing to butt out in the new year don't have to endure the pangs of withdrawal alone.

Smokers' Anonymous, a Yellowknife-based support group meeting for about four months, will hold its next regular meeting Dec. 31.

The meeting will not only help the members during the busy days of the Christmas season, but will open the doors to newcomers bent on kicking the deadly habit.

Marilyn, not her real name, is a group member who found the courage to quit and went on to help form the Yellowknife chapter.

Guided by the 12-step program based on Nicotine Anonymous, Marilyn says the only difference with that group is the fact that Smokers' Anonymous accepts people who use the patch to quit smoking.

Marilyn says members share both their relief of becoming healthier -- physical improvements begin almost immediately -- as well as the pains of losing the "craving call" nicotine users have to deal with.

"I have found the meetings very beneficial. There are issues to talk about. There is a grieving process, you're letting go of something. It may not be a close friend, but it's part of your life.... With support around you I found it's not nearly as tough as it was."

Marilyn, now entering her fourth month as a smoke-free woman, says even though she once quit for 11 years when she became pregnant with the first of her two children, she had little problem becoming addicted again.

"About four and a half years ago, somebody offered me a puff. I said, 'sure let me have a puff.' I wanted to see if it's as gross as I remembered. The next day I was saying 'let me have a couple of puffs'. Then it was 'can I bum a cigarette, soon I was back to two packs a day," she says adding,

"I never thought I would quit smoking. It's pretty hard when you're trying to set a good example for your children when that damn addiction takes over. I remember going outside for a cigarette and really feeling like a low life."

One immediate benefit, Marilyn says she found with the fellowship, is just how quickly the support fellow members offer replaces that of the smoking habit.

"As it said in article in Yellowknifer last week, there is a camaraderie surrounding the whole process of smoking, sharing in this addiction, silly as this may sound, there's a whole social process surrounding the habit.

In a way we've replaced that social process."

Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, there's also a sponsorship aspect so members can reach for the aid of another 24 hours a day.

So, if you're already talking about quitting for your News Year's resolution, there's help. Simply show up at 7:30 p.m. at Room 117 at the Northern United Place Dec. 31.