Smoke and mirrors: Chicago smokers go to great lengths to keep their cigarette habits on the down-low

"I would smoke before a sport or after a class so I'd have time to air out," Cardo, who lives in Lakeview, said. "Or I'd smoke outside and whatever jacket I was smoking in, I'd be sure to take it off."

But it wasn't long before her parents literally caught wind of what she was up to. At least twice, they asked her why she smelled like cigarette smoke.

"I'd say that I was at a friend's house whose parents I knew smoked heavily," Cardo said, with a laugh. "I always had an excuse."

Once she turned 19, Cardo came clean about her smoking.

"Everyone who knows me knew that I smoked," said Cardo, who has since quit her two-pack-a-week habit.

But for some locals, their smoking--both past and present--is a secret to be hidden from family and friends.

With the pressure to kick the habit coming from all angles, some go to extreme measures to keep their nicotine fix under wraps using stealthy tactics such as smoking only at certain times during the day, changing their clothes and--if they have to--lying.

Despite the stigma associated with smoking, there has been a slight uptick in use recently.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in November 20.6 percent of adults--about 46 million--were smokers in 2008, up slightly from 19.8 percent in 2007.

Although the smoking rate has dropped sharply since the mid-1960s, when it hovered around 40 percent, the CDC had hoped to lower the rate to 12 percent or less by 2010. The lack of progress is dismaying to health officials because smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing 443,000 people a year.

North Suburban resident Jennifer said she will never tell her father that she smoked--even though she quit about 20 days ago.

"My dad used to smoke and gave me big lectures about it," said Jennifer, 23, who declined to have her last name printed so as to keep her secret. "Whenever I was around my dad, I wouldn't smoke. I'd sanitize my hands, spray my clothes and chew gum to make sure he never smelled it."

In addition to the potential shunning from friends and family, smokers have public policy to worry about, including the nearly 2-year-old Smoke-free Illinois Act and similar city ban, which stops smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. This month the American Cancer Society held its annual Great American Smokeout, meant to encourage smokers to smoke less or quit for a day.

Bottom line: It's hard out there for a smoker.

"Smoking has gone from glamorous to a socially shunned activity, which can take a toll on those who feel they can't, or don't want to, stop. In effect, isolating and stigmatizing smokers can be counterproductive,"  said Dr. Arthur Hoffman, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society.

Just ask South Sider Helen Koukla,  who has hidden her habit for a year and a half to avoid lectures from friends and family.

"A lot of people are biased against smokers," 24-year-old Koukla, a tobacco store employee, said.

That's why her workplace is such a refreshing change of pace for her.

"Customers come here, smoke, socialize and talk, and I started to socialize with them," Koukla--who  smokes a pack and a half to two packs a week--said.

What started as socializing turned into a way to combat stress, said Koukla.

"Smoking is my only outlet sometimes," she said.

Her sentiment is important to remember, according to Dr. Michael Banks, a clinical psychologist for Rogers Park-based Boundaries Unlimited treatment center. Banks, a former smoker, said sometimes too much emphasis is placed on the addictive nature of cigarettes and not enough on another need they fulfill.

"Some people smoke during a workday because they have a stressful workplace and smoking forces them to take a break that they actually need," Banks, who is also a health and life coach, said. "Others may do it because it gives them time to reflect on things. I identify what smoking is doing for them and try to find pathways to satisfy that need so it's easy to let it go."

What doesn't help is shaming smokers, said Hoffman, who works with the Great American Smokeout and facilitates smoke cessation initiatives at the Lake County Health Department and Rush University Medical Center.

"People get angry at themselves if they slip while trying to quit," Hoffman said.
Koukla, for one, is considering quitting, and may just do it in January--outing herself in the process.

"Maybe I'll just say 'Hey guys, my New Year's resolution is to stop smoking,' " Koukla said. "I guess they'll figure out then that I was a smoker and I can take care of two things at once."

MCT CONTRIBUTED.

kkyles@tribune.com