TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

It took a little help from above for Juanita Myers to quit smoking.

Myers, 80, started smoking at age 13 and tried to stop several times over the years. Last year, she asked God for some assistance and quit cold turkey March 13, 2009.

“I picked that day because it was Friday the 13th and I knew I’d never forget it,” Myers said.

Her brothers and friends all smoked as they were growing up in Mississippi and Myers picked up the habit too, she said. Her brand was Misty Menthol and she would smoke up to a pack and a half a day.

Her husband, Don Myers, had also been a smoker, but he quit for good in 1986. He kept urging her to quit, but sometimes his attempts to help backfired, she said.

“I’d quit and he’d say something to irritate me and I’d start smoking again,” Juanita Myers said with a laugh. “This time I told him to leave me alone.”

The couple began attending Christian Assembly in Mount Mesa about four years ago. Juanita Myers said she felt self-conscious about going to church and smelling of cigarettes so she started to spray her clothes with air fresheners before going out.

That was bad enough, but the final straw was when her husband told her the price of a carton of cigarettes had gone up to nearly $50. She wasn’t about to pay that much.

Juanita Myers prayed for the strength to give up smoking and hasn’t touched a cigarette since. Church members, including the pastor, have been very supportive, she said.

Her husband has stepped in the few times her resolve has weakened.

“I’d tell him, ‘One cigarette would make me feel better’ and he’d say, “Oh no you don’t, you’re not going there,’” Juanita Myers said.

Don Myers said once his wife made up her mind to really quit he knew she’d stick to it.

He said he did his best to encourage her and be there for her during the tough times. It took him several attempts before he successfully quit smoking, so he knows what a struggle it is, he said.

Paul Knepprath, American Lung Association in California’s vice president of advocacy and health initiatives, said he congratulates Juanita Myers for quitting smoking. He said her story is an example of how long it can take some people to quit.

“Many people try many times before they are successful,” Knepprath said.

It’s not surprising that Juanita Myers started smoking as a teenager, Knepprath said. Many adults who smoke start in their teens because cigarette smoking is marketed as something that’s glamorous and sexy, he said.

Juanita Myers said she’s neither gained nor lost weight since she stopped smoking. She said she’s always been pretty thin, doesn’t take a bunch of medications and can still get around just fine.

Giving up cigarettes just makes her already good health that much more satisfying.

“I feel proud when I look at myself in the mirror,” she said.