National campaign spotlights St. Luke’s respiratory therapist’s efforts to help smokers quit

Most cigarette smokers would like to quit. But that’s easier said than done — and the numbers back that up.

In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that almost 68% of adult smokers wanted to quit smoking. The CDC also found that more than 53% of adult smokers had tried to quit in the previous year, but only about 9% were successful.

Terra Thanadabouth, a respiratory therapist at St. Luke’s, knows firsthand the struggles a person faces when they try to quit smoking. She started smoking when she was about 20 and then spent decades trying to give it up.

“I used to quit every day,” Thanadabouth said. “But staying quit is really hard.”

In her role as a respiratory therapist, she shares her story with St. Luke’s patients who want to quit smoking.

“I had my daughter at 22. When I got pregnant with her I quit smoking for seven years,” Thanadabouth said. “Then, I made that mistake where I told myself I could just have one (cigarette). Slowly, over time, I started smoking more and more and more, and I ended up with a 25-year history of smoking.”

Looking back, she finds it hard to believe she was a respiratory therapist and a smoker at the same time.

“It sounds really dumb,” Thanadabouth said.

Thanadabouth also has asthma. The combination of smoking and battling asthma eventually caught up to her.

“I had an asthma attack that put me in the hospital for two days,” she said. “And then they sent me home on oxygen, which was unpleasant. I just decided then and there — I think I had an epiphany of, ‘What are you doing?’”

Thanadabouth is certain she has smoked her last cigarette.

“I quit,” she said. “I’m 56 now and I was 51 at the time. It’s made a huge difference in my life.”

Thanadabouth’s story is a powerful one. Powerful enough that she’s been featured as an ambassador for a campaign by the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. Through her work with nicotine replacement therapy and tobacco cessation programs at St. Luke’s, she became involved with NACDD and was selected to share her story as part of the campaign.

The association’s promotional graphics feature Thanadabouth – using her maiden name of Bent – and three simple, life-changing words: “Terra quit smoking.”

Her role at St. Luke’s is to educate patients, just as the campaign does, with the goal of keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital.

And, of course, she draws on her personal experiences when talking with patients.

“I go to their rooms, and as long as they’re receptive, we sit down and have a conversation about smoking,” Thanadabouth said. “I usually tell them about my story, and it can help us connect. We usually share our stories about some of the hazards of cigarette smoking. … We talk about the different tricks you can use to stay quit.”

Candice McClain is a lead respiratory therapist who has worked with Thanadabouth for several years and witnessed her efforts to quit smoking. McClain said she is often impressed with Thanadabouth’s ability to communicate with patients.

“I like that she’s so honest,” McClain said. “She’s just very relatable. She tells them the struggles she’s been through and the things she has experienced. … When patients hear that I think it just makes them more comfortable. It lets them know it’s OK to struggle.”

That’s a consistent point that Thanadabouth conveys to people, whether through a national campaign or in a one-on-one setting at St. Luke’s.

“I guess if I had a message to anybody it would be not to give up,” Thanadabouth said. “It took me a long time to actually quit-quit, as I like to say. But it’s definitely been worth it. It’s been worth it health-wise, (socially and financially). And there are so many people out there who want to help, and there’s nothing wrong with asking for help if you need it.”

Want to quit?

St. Luke’s has a Nicotine Dependence Treatment program to help anyone who wants to quit smoking, vaping or chewing.

The program offers one-on-one health coaching and behavioral support by phone. It can help people identify triggers, develop an action plan, set a quit date and avoid a relapse. The program also includes ongoing support for 12 months after quitting.

“I really encourage people to use the St. Luke’s program, because it’s really good,” Thanadabouth said.