I had the tuberculosis diagnosis, and I had to quit smoking.

I understood it in my head. But putting down a lifelong habit is not easy. The cigarette after a meal, the one during a break at work. Smoking had soaked into every corner of my daily life.

The Drug Called Champix

My doctor recommended a smoking cessation aid — a drug called Champix (varenicline).

“Decide on a quit date, and start taking this medication before that day. It has an effect on suppressing the urge to smoke in the brain.”

The hard part was deciding on a quit date. I couldn’t make up my mind, and kept pushing the date further and further back.

”You Will Need to Be Quarantined”

But while I was procrastinating, the tuberculosis progressed.

The doctor told me: “If you continue smoking, you will need to be quarantined in hospital. There is a risk of infecting others.”

Quarantine. Hospitalized with no contact with other people.

Hearing those words, I finally made up my mind. I set a quit date and started the Champix.

In 1 to 3 Weeks, the Urge Faded

Those first few days — yes, I wanted a cigarette.

After meals was the hardest. Decades of habit had trained my body to automatically seek out a cigarette when eating was over. But with the medication, that urge wasn’t as strong as it had been before.

Week one, week two, week three — slowly, the desire to smoke faded.

It didn’t disappear completely. But I started to feel that I could manage.

Quitting Smoking, Fermented Foods, and Jogging Are All the Same

Something I realized after successfully quitting:

Results don’t appear immediately.

You can’t quit in a day. You won’t feel better in a week. But by accumulating “I didn’t smoke today” one day at a time, “a person who doesn’t smoke” became normal without me quite noticing when it happened.

Jogging, fermented foods, and quitting smoking — it’s all the same.

Rush it, and you won’t get anything good. Things that take time are, in the long run, the better things.

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Next time: The day I ran 10 kilometers. And then I started chasing speed.

※ This article is based on personal experience and publicly available information. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. If you have health concerns, please consult a doctor or registered dietitian. See our Disclaimer.