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SALT LAKE CITY -- Strange as may sound, a doctor at a college student health clinic got Ken Salvesen hooked on cigarettes. His blood pressure was at dangerous levels and he needed to lose weight. "He told me, 'Do whatever you can to get the weight off, even if it meant smoking.'"
For the next 33 years, cigarettes were his constant companion, his crutch. Seven years ago, he rid himself of the habit.
So does he identify with President Barack Obama's struggles with tobacco? Recently, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told CNN that the president has abstained from smoking for the better part of a year now, though he still chews Nicorette gum.
"It's nice it's out there in the public. Maybe it will spark something in someone like, 'If he can do it, I can do it.' At least they'll try, which is wonderful," said Salvesen, who quit on Sept. 6, 2003, while on a ship sailing the fjords of Norway.
Salvesen said he made a commitment to himself to quit by his 50th birthday. Like Obama, Salvesen also used nicotine replacement products and prescription medication for a few weeks after he quit.
"I can't believe I did it. I still can't believe I did it," he said.
Another "quitter," 27-year-old Tashina Foster, say Obama's efforts are laudable but most people have intensely personal reasons for wanting to give up smoking.
In October 2009, Foster summoned the willpower to quit cold turkey.
"My husband and I decided we would start trying for a family, so it was really important we quit," she said.
That meant that Foster had to learn new strategies to deal with an intensely stressful job. She enrolled in the online QuitNet.com for support. Instead of going on smoke breaks at work, she enrolled in 15-minute fitness classes offered by her employer. Her family provided assistance.
"A lot of it was just willpower. For me it was willpower. I wanted to have a baby. I wanted to give my baby the best possible start," Foster said.
Nearly a year to the date, she and her husband celebrated the birth of a son.
While Obama may inspire some people to consider quitting, Foster said her experience suggests that nothing compares to self-motivation.
"I think you have to want to do it for yourself. You have to have a reason. It's hard. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I honestly struggle with it every day," she said.
Giving up smoking is the No. 2 New Year's resolution for Americans after losing weight.
This time of year, many smokers take personal inventory and contemplate giving up tobacco.
Kathy Garrett, tobacco prevention program manager for the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, said Obama is "a great role model for people. If he can do it, anyone can do it. Running the nation is a tough job."
But people need proper support, Garrett said. Some use nicotine replacement products that help them step down nicotine in their bodies. Others rely on prescription medications such as Chantix, which targets nicotine receptors in the body, or Wellbutrin, which is an antidepressant.
Some manage to quit cold turkey.
In Utah, people who quit smoking are encouraged to use QuitNet.com for online help in creating a plan to quit or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to speak to counselors.
David Neville, spokesman for tobacco prevention and control program for the Utah Department of Health, said changing this behavior is a significant challenge. Most smokers make four to six serious attempts at quitting before they succeed.
Neville said increasing tobacco taxes has encouraged some people to quit smoking or discourage youth smoking. Another boon is that smokers reduce their consumption. "That's not quitting completely but it's a step in the right direction," Neville said.
E-mail: marjorie@desnews.com.
