School pressures caused closet smoking addiction

Higher education led Jackie Moore down the dangerous path of addiction.
While attending the University of Toronto to complete graduate work for her studies, the Constance Lake band member began a closet smoking addiction.
“I was working on my master’s thesis and there was even more pressure in school,” Moore, who is now a professor, said. “My time in Toronto was very stressful for me. I was away from my husband and children. I hadn’t lived in the city much before. It was a sudden change.”
Moore shared her story during the Tobacco Talk youth gathering in Thunder Bay Jan. 28-30.
She said her addiction started with just one cigarette which turned into more and more as she worked to complete her schoolwork.
“I was living alone,” Moore said, without anyone looking out for her.
“I started smoking between my writing (sessions). I knew it was bad; I was raised to be against smoking; I was raised to know better. But I couldn’t stop. Once I went down that road, I didn’t stop.”
She would continue to smoke for about seven years, but never in public.
But one day, she did light up in public and someone she knew saw her.
“They said ‘I didn’t know you smoked,’” she said. “That’s what it took for me to realize I had to quit. I couldn’t tell people not to do it if I was smoking too.”
With the exception of the occasional relapse, Moore has been smoke free for about 10 years.
She said her inner strength helps her fight the cravings.
“It’s mind over body,” she said.