Veteran’s persistence pays off in quitting tobacco

Douglas Ferrier didn’t quit smoking for good when he placed his “last pack” in his father’s coffin. He didn’t quit during a second attempt to go cold turkey or when he first tried to stop by using medication.

But Ferrier persisted, which is why he’s sharing this message with other Veterans who want to stop using tobacco: “Don’t beat yourself up over a backslide.”

Ferrier believed that “The only way you’re going to learn how to handle stopping smoking or breaking the addiction is to fail. It’s going to take time. But as long as you’re actively trying to stop, you’re going to accomplish something.”

Family ties

Family is why Ferrier started using tobacco. His grandfather, grandmother and mother smoked cigarettes. His father enjoyed pipes and cigars. Viewing smoking as cool, he started smoking cigarettes regularly at age 9 or 10.

His smoking continued through his time in the Navy and the Army National Guard—and beyond.

Family is also why he decided to quit. In December 2012, Ferrier and his sister drove from Kentucky to Colorado to bury their father. Whenever they stopped for gas, Ferrier smoked. His sister, highly allergic to cigarette smoke, began to feel ill.

Motivated by the effect on his sister’s health, the inconvenience his smoking caused and his father’s death, Ferrier vowed to quit cold turkey. At the burial, he placed his pack in his father’s coffin.

Ferrier quit tobacco for eight years.

Back to the pack

Then his mother’s death in 2020 created new stress.

“I used nicotine as stress relief,” he admitted. “But it didn’t help. It made it worse.”

Motivated to get in better health for his wife, children and grandchildren, Ferrier decided to quit again. He didn’t want to miss family milestones like his grandfather, who died before Ferrier graduated from high school. But this time, cold turkey didn’t work; he resumed smoking.

Ferrier then turned to VA’s Tobacco Use Treatment Program, which appealed to him because it offered telephone and video counseling.

But it took time to find a treatment that worked.

Finding the right solution

To help reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings, VA offers prescription medications and nicotine replacement therapy like patches, gum, lozenges and nasal spray. VA also provides behavioral counseling; research shows that using medications and counseling together is the best way to stay quit.

Unfortunately, Ferrier’s skin reacted badly to the patches. His habit of swallowing gum made him feel sick. The lozenges dissolved too quickly and the nasal spray irritated his sinuses. Bupropion, a prescription pill that reduces the urge to use tobacco, triggered an allergic reaction.

Then Ferrier’s VA health care provider suggested another prescription medication, varenicline, which blocks nicotine’s effects on the brain. Ferrier didn’t smoke a single cigarette during his six-month course of treatment, which he completed in May 2025.

What has helped him the most is counseling that includes weekly video group sessions with other Veterans. They share their tobacco cessation experiences and provide support and advice.

Counseling also taught him how to avoid falling back into old routines—like smoking right after dinner —by creating new routines, like watching TV with his wife instead.

Living tobacco-free

After he stopped smoking again, Ferrier’s sense of smell and taste returned. He stopped running out of breath going up the stairs. His joint pain, blood pressure and diabetes control improved.

“I didn’t know cigarettes hit your whole body the way it did,” he said.

Best of all, at 51, he’s confident he’ll be around longer for his family. “My new grandbaby is 9 months old, and for three months of her life I smoked. In my mind, that’s three months of my life I’ve taken away from her,” he said. Research shows that stopping smoking at any age increases life expectancy.

Ferrier isn’t taking his success for granted. He still meets with the Veterans group for counseling and support, viewing it like the need to keep taking insulin for diabetes. “I’m going to try to maintain my smoking cessation the rest of my life,” he added.

And he’s sharing his story in hopes it will inspire other Veterans to keep trying and learn how to quit for good.