Introducing Shannon Vaffis, Age 34, Tucson AZ:

Shannon Vaffis, of Tucson, Ariz., struggled with smoking on and off for ten years. Growing up in a family of smokers, she tried her first cigarette at age thirteen. At twenty-three, she transitioned from being a social smoker to a daily smoker due to a stressful job out of college. She made a number of quit attempts, but was never able to ward off the addiction for very long. There was even a time when Shannon thought she would never be able to quit for good.

Due to her on-again off-again quit attempts, Shannon’s family and boyfriend found it difficult to continue to be supportive. She realized that she had to be committed and quit for herself. After a long struggle, she eventually worked with a quitline to quit for good. Shannon knows that her success was not an easy journey and she still struggles to stay strong against temptations.

Since Shannon has quit, her life as an ex-smoker “just seems sunnier.” She has more time and energy to do things she could not do before, like sleep more soundly, walk her dog and even run. In fact, Shannon will be participating in her third half marathon this winter since quitting for good.

Shannon wants smokers who are trying to quit to know that there is support available. Her passion for helping others who are trying to quit even extends to her job at the Arizona Smokers’ Helpline. She tells smokers not to be hard on themselves for unsuccessful quit attempts. Shannon believes in the American Lung Associations’ Quitter in You© campaign because it encourages smokers to quit for good by utilizing resources to help them during the difficult journey.

To get support for the quitter in you, go to quitterinyou.org or call 1-800-LungUSA.