CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Think about something you may do on a continuous basis. Now, think about wanting or having to stop doing that thing, even if it is something that has been done for 10, 20, 30 or maybe 40 years.

It is difficult to come up with a solid number, but many people in America face this dilemma when they decide they should stop using tobacco products, whether it is cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. This is also a problem that is not absent in the military community.

Fortunately for members of Team Charleston, there are smoking cessation classes available at the 437th Medical Group Health and Wellness Center that can help individuals stop using tobacco products.

Anyone working on base is eligible to sign up for smoking cessation classes held weekly at the HAWC. During these classes, individuals are taught ways to change the habits and behaviors that encourage their use of tobacco products. Also, for any Department of Defense identification card holder there are medications available to help individuals stop using tobacco products, said Regina Creech, 437 MDG HAWC health and education program manager.

"[The class] looks at why people smoke, how they use tobacco products, patterns in the use of the product and then they learn how to cope with patterns and changing behaviors," Ms. Creech said.

Along with offering the group classes, individuals can sign up for weekly call-in sessions with the American Lung Association or they can use a computer based training course that covers the same material as the group classes, said Ms. Creech.

Also available to help those wanting to stop using tobacco products are medications, such as Chantix, Zyban and nicotine replacement patches, to help with the physiological effect of when a person is going through nicotine withdrawal, whether it may be physical or psychological symptoms.

While those medications are available, it is not just a matter of taking a pill and then being able to successfully quit tobacco.

"Some people think if they pick up [the medicine] from the pharmacy, they will quit," Ms. Creech said. "But you have to change your behavior to be able to quit. Most success comes from every level you complete; every step you take, takes it up a notch. When you change your behavior, complete the class and use the medicine, it increases your chance of success."

This plan of action was just what one Team Charleston member, who was a smoker for 40 years, needed to help him be smoke free for more than nine months.

Rich Wiedenhoeft, an appointment clerk at the 473 MDG, made his first attempt at quitting smoking in 1971 when he was stationed in Germany, but he was not successful because he lacked the right incentive.

"Before this time, I was not able to quit because I had a lack of motivation [to quit]," Mr. Wiedenhoeft said. "My family was always on my back, but I still lacked self motivation.

"Until you have a motivation you won't do it ... you have to want it," he said.

For 60-year-old Mr. Wiedenhoeft, his motivation came in the form of what might happen if he didn't quit smoking.

He started noticing he was having trouble with his vision. Through research on a healthcare Web site, he found out for some people who smoke, by the time they turn 60, they can go blind, he said. And according to him, "I'd rather be dead than blind."

So, to help himself avoid this outcome, Mr. Wiedenhoeft signed up to call the ALA on a weekly basis while he was going through his smoking cessation program. He picked a quit date of Feb. 28, 2008.

"I used the over-the-phone Chantix program with the ALA. I checked in weekly over the phone and got a lot of information from them on what to expect and how to cope," he said. "I highly recommend their program for someone who can't participate in the classroom program."

For him, not only was it the change of behavior that helped him kick the habit, but it was the inclusion of medicine in his quit program that has helped him stay smoke free for more than 275 days ... and counting.

While it was the medicine that helped him quit and stay smoke free since February, he pointed out it has to be something a person wants to do.

"Learn as much as you can about health and smoking, go to a health Web sites, read up and find out what smoking does to your body and find your motivation," he said.

The next smoking-cessation class will be held Dec. 23. To sign up for this class or another cessation class at the HAWC, call Ms. Creech at 963-6023.