Quitting smoking: two impactful stories of hope

Andrea Sanders and William Bonfanti are two dedicated employees working closely with respiratory patients at the Montreal Chest Institute (MCI), and for many years, they were also heavy smokers.  

Andrea had been smoking long before her career in Respiratory began. “I was smoking a pack a day and I enjoyed the social aspect of it,” she says. “Quitting never felt like a real possibility.”  

A severe illness—RSV combined with the flu—in late 2018 made it physically impossible for her to smoke. That’s when she began rethinking her aversion for treatment. She enrolled in the MCI Tobacco Treatment Program despite having been used to smoking for 35 years.  

“Long-term success felt impossible, so I focused on achieving one smoke-free week at a time,” she explains. “Feeling my breathing improve each week kept me going.”

Six months later, her nurse handed her a certificate tallying all the cigarettes that she hadn’t smoked, and the money saved. “Seeing the number 4500 on paper was an incredible moment as well as seeing that I had saved about $ 2000 for my pack a day habit. I began to realize that something good was happening, and that’s when my motivation took off!”

Meet William

William’s path looked a bit different; he remembers feeling a desire to quit smoking almost instantly after starting. He often felt guilty for taking smoking breaks while meeting lovely respiratory patients at the hospital and seeing all that they were facing. Inspired by Andrea, his colleague and friend, William decided to give quitting a try.

“If she could do it, I had to try,” William remembers telling himself. “Andrea had been a heavy smoker like me.”

William shares that he relapsed initially. His mom came through for him with words of encouragement: Don’t quit on quitting. He learned from nurse clinician Sabrina Zaman that relapse is often part of the path to success—and in time, he reached his breakthrough.

“One day, I took a puff like every other day, except I didn’t like it anymore. Something had changed thanks to the program.”

William replaced old habits with new ones: falling in love with exercising, reading manga, and climbing the stairs at work instead of going for smoke breaks. He also uses a tool provided by Sabrina to keep his hands busy. He discusses various tools and distraction techniques introduced to him by the smoking cessation team.

“Changing your life is possible, no matter how many years it has been,” William compassionately says.

Words from the heart

When speaking about his work in the respiratory clinic as well as his own personal journey, William reflects with heavy-heartedness on the young adults who are vaping. “In the clinic, we’re seeing people in their teens and early twenties developing Popcorn Lung, a disease that causes craters in the lungs. I want young people to know that freedom from smoking or vaping is possible.”

Andrea also offers her perspective: “When we smoke, we don’t really care about the health risks because we enjoy it for different reasons. But sometimes, looking at the financial side can be eye-opening. The cost of smoking has skyrocketed over the years, and for me, quitting turned out to be a health victory and a financial one.”

MCI Tobacco Treatment Program is helping people finally quit tobacco, marijuana, vaping, and other substances. Quitting often takes multiple attempts, even with expert guidance. The team promises an experience that’s comfortable and well-paced. It’s never too late to try again.

MCI Tobacco Treatment Program

MUHC employee advantage: No referral is needed for you to be treated for smoking cessation at the Montreal Chest Institute. Get in touch by phone or email, or simply walk into the clinic.

For all other patients: Ask your doctor or nurse for a referral to the Montreal Chest Institute at the MUHC, or a different smoking cessation clinic in your area.