Rob Nadeau quit smoking when he married his wife, a nonsmoker.
He quit because of his love for his wife.
For six years, Rob Nadeau, a 33-year-old psychology freshman, has been tobacco free and says “no” to the addiction that affects so many students.
When Nadeau met his wife, he realized that she did not smoke when he first kissed her. He remembered from a brief time when he tried to quit smoking that kissing a smoker is like kissing an ashtray.
Nadeau’s love for his wife and the fact she was a nonsmoker encouraged him to quit tobacco forever.
“I finished up the pack of cigarettes I had, and I never bought another,” Nadeau said.
Many people have not been as successful as Nadeau in quitting tobacco.
The addictive quality of nicotine in cigarettes affects the lives of many, especially young people.
Nadeau had tried to quit smoking several times before, but the nicotine withdrawal was too hard. However when he quit for his wife, he doesn’t even remember having a nicotine withdrawal.
“She never realized how much I smoked until after we were married,” Nadeau said.
He didn’t tell her about his addiction, because he was embarrassed, Nadeau said.
When Nadeau changed schools in ninth grade, he was desperate to make friends. He made friends who smoked, and he eventually joined them.
“It wasn’t really habit at first,” Nadeau said. “It was just something I did when my friends were around. It was social smoking.”
Derek Henson, a cell and molecular biology junior, also started as a social smoker his senior year of high school. He did not even think about how it might affect him, he said. Now, he smokes a pack of cigarettes a day.
“Some college students social-smoke, but don’t call themselves a smoker,” said Robin Purdie director of the Seretean Wellness Center. “But you are, because it’s affecting your brain.”
“[Young people] don’t realize once they start smoking that the nicotine becomes very addictive,” Nadeau said.
Tobacco companies target young people, because they are susceptible and the tobacco is more addictive in younger users, Purdie said.
“I definitely see the tobacco companies targeting college students,” Henson said. “Because if they can get them hooked in college, then they won’t quit for the rest of their life.”
“[The tobacco companies] will go to the bars or the college campus, and they will provide one free sample to students,” said Yvon Fils-Aime a tobacco health educator. “They know that with one cigarette you can get addicted.”
Even though tobacco is an addictive habit for many, Nadeau is an example of how it is not impossible to break the habit. He was a tobacco user for 12 years. Now, he said the smell of smoke repulses him.
Nadeau is thankful that he can walk around Boomer Lake, and play Frisbee and football with his friends while breathing easily.
“I have more energy, my memory has increased, my breath doesn’t stink and I save more money,” Nadeau said.
Nadeau wants OSU students to know that if you see him walking down the sidewalk with his mohawk, keep your cigarette smoke away from him.
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