Drinks to Success

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I met at a local watering hole for an after work aperitif. There is nothing this side of hard physical labor that stimulates the appetite like a little anisette. As we placed our drink order with the bartender, I caught the eye of another patron. We acknowledged each other with a nod. Then he motioned to the bartender. When we received our drinks, they were compliments of this fellow. I lifted my glass in a thank you gesture and he returned the same.

Did this give my husband cause for concern? One might wonder. My husband did. However, there is a better explanation than bad bar etiquette. The man had been enrolled in Penn State Extension’s tobacco treatment in 2007, and I was the counselor for that program.

He was clearly grateful for putting tobacco behind him. I remember his circumstance well. As mentioned, he quit in 2007, which was 1 year before Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Act would eliminate smoking at his workplace. You see, he is a bartender at another restaurant and bar in town. It could not have been easy, but he made up his mind to quit, regardless of others smoking around him. How nice for him that his workplace has been smoke-free for over 4 years and he has been tobacco-free for more than 5!

If this is inspiration for you to quit, the same program that helped this man is available to you. Call or visit Penn State Extension in Pike County, 514 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337, (570)296-3400, http://extension.psu.edu/pike. Support, counseling, and nicotine replacement is provided at no cost, thanks to Tobacco Free Northeast PA at Burn Prevention Network. Funding is through the PA Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Programs.