Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

NNSL (Feb 26/99) - Ex-smokers are perceptive individuals.

The post D-Day gathering of the Tobacco Action Yellowknife quit-smoking group was, in fact, all about perception.

Members' reactions to having quit smoking the day before, on Valentine's Day, covered a range of experiences, heightened sensory perception among the most prominent.

The eight women and three men in the group spoke of the number of non-quitting smokers they'd spotted enjoying themselves very well thank you, and at the size of the butts stubbed out on the street (evidently by carefree people who knew there'd be another cigarette waiting for them before too long).

"I saw a man lighting up in his car while stopped for a red light, and he did it all in such an easy, casual way -- it was something I wouldn't have noticed before," said counsellor Gail Gaudon of her own kick-the-habit experience.

Being able to detect acts of God is apparently also a symptom of the post-smoker's heightened consciousness. One group member said her ex-husband showing up with a lit cigarette in hand the day after she had quit on an earlier occasion was a clear sign that "God meant for her to smoke."

At Wednesday night's session, one woman said she'd found two packs of smokes that mysteriously (read divinely) appeared in the kitchen cupboards she'd cleaned the day before.

Now for some women, Mel Gibson might very well be a god himself, but for me on that fateful Sunday he was the devil incarnate. I had taken the group's advice by keeping busy all day and then jumped at the chance to spend the evening in a smoke-free movie theatre watching "Payback."

But while smoking might have been prohibited for those of us in the audience, Mel must have gone through a carton plus some in the course of 90 minutes, blowing the proverbial smoke in my face. When the lights went up after the show, my companion shot out the exit to light up on the sidewalk and join Mel in post-celluloid bliss. And I might have, too, had not God intervened (this time on the right side) and arranged that that cigarette be her last.

By now it must be quite clear that the quitting-smoker relies at least as much on circumstance and support as on willpower. And for most of the group who are still getting their nic fix through patches or prescription drugs, it truly is a question of breaking the routine, the thought-process and the circumstance that fuels the habit.

"I only thought about smoking a couple of times today," reported one gentleman, "for only about eight hours each time."

Coping with breaking the habit is what the group sessions are all about, and co-ordinator Dr. Ross Wheeler said it was discussion -- talking about the process openly -- that was the key to him quitting 18 months ago.

The atmosphere in the meeting room at the Northern Addictions Detox Centre certainly is conducive to talk. Rather than put members on the spot to spill their guts or reveal any transgressions, Wheeler and Gaudon suggest topics and let events run their course. Members carry on a conversation, full of insight, tips and laughter.

Wheeler spoke both Monday and Wednesday of the addict within -- a cunning, powerful and seductive creature who is always willing to make a deal. The addict might tell you that the cigarettes you find in your desk drawer are indeed a sign from above or that you can smoke "just one" because you've been so good.

As I told the group Wednesday, my own addict has told me that maybe this is simply the wrong time to quit. After all, there are plenty of people -- George Burns, one woman suggested -- who get away with smoking their whole sometimes long lives. The voice within has whispered that maybe I've got another 15 years, and then I can get serious about quitting.

But, in truth, I realize this is simply temptation. The group is helping in that way -- making me more aware of the mental hurdles involved in butting out, and providing a forum for airing my smoky laundry.