Ron Thompson
“The Company becoming tobacco free was the catalyst, the thing that pushed me in the direction to quit. The folks I work with and the support they extended to me helped me through it.”
—Ron Thompson, Area Service Manager, Desert Southwest/Pacific Zone.
Ron began smoking at an early age, “I started smoking as a teenager. At the time it was cool.”
But after 40 years of smoking, Ron was well aware that smoking is no longer cool—or convenient—for a person who travels a lot for business. “Smoking is so frowned upon any more. It is almost impossible to find a smoking hotel room when you travel. And fewer people around me were smokers.”
When Ron had tried to quit in the past, he had never made it more than a few days. But when the Company announced it would become a tobacco-free facility in late 2011, Ron began to seriously consider another effort to quit. At zone meetings, some of Ron’s coworkers began encouraging him to give it another try. And ultimately, it was the help and support of friends and coworkers that made the difference this time.
In November 2011, Ron began making his own mental preparations to try to quit. “I thought I'd reconsider my situation and started to set a mental date to quit.” That got him thinking about his total body health, and in mid January 2012, Ron joined the Sonic Boom program. By late January, he was ready to make the leap to quit smoking.
“The last cigarette I had was on Friday, January 27th. I told a handful of people I was trying to quit, and the coworkers who knew about it gave me support and encouragement every day. One said if I needed to talk to someone, I could always give him a call. After 100 days, I sent a message out to several people announcing the milestone. I received calls and notes from everyone congratulating me and giving their support for me to continue.”
The Company's tobacco-free policy may have motivated Ron to try quitting tobacco, but it was his efforts—and Ron’s community of friends and coworkers—that made it happen.
“The Company becoming tobacco free was the catalyst, the thing that pushed me in the direction to quit. The folks I work with and the support they extended to me helped me through it. Bottom line, it's been 190 days [as of August] since I last had a cigarette. I feel better after quitting. And I feel better about myself.“