By KELLY WILSON

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

When Tracy Nell of Quincy first tried to quit smoking, the attempt lasted just three weeks.

He was given a prescription for Chantix, a smoking cessation medicine, and was determined to quit after 29 years of smoking close to two packs a day.

But his wife, Nancy, also a long-term smoker, wasn't about to give up her cigarettes. So he quickly went back to the habit.

Then in mid-October, Tracy suffered a massive heart attack.

"My doctor told me, 'You can smoke and die or quit and live. The choice is yours,' " he said.

Now he and his wife, who each began smoking at age 13 and are now 42, have thrown out their cigarettes.

"When they asked me if I wanted a prescription for Chantix or the patch, I said, 'No, I think I have all I need,' " Tracy said, referring to his will to live -- and the support he is getting from his wife to quit smoking.

Research shows that support of family and friends can help the success rate for those who try to quit smoking. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that social networks are helpful in quitting smoking.

"Friends and family can help the most by being aware and supportive of the struggle to quit, and the American Cancer Society has resources to help them show support for their loved one who is trying to quit," said Dana Blase, health initiatives manager for the American Cancer Society.

Tracy, who works at General Mills in Hannibal, Mo., hopes that other smokers will try to quit before they have a heart attack or some other major health issue.

Today -- the American Cancer Society's 33rd annual Great American Smokeout -- is a good day to start.

"With the proven health risks and increased costs of smoking -- along with Illinois' year-old smoke-free law -- there have never been more compelling reasons to quit," said Dr. Mary Maryland, president of the American Cancer Society's Illinois Division.

Tracy has been without a cigarette since his hospital stay nearly five weeks ago. He says that with his doctor's words in the back of his mind, quitting has been fairly easy.

"Once in a great while I think about it, but it goes away," he said. "I'm not going to succumb to it. I'm lucky to be here, I can tell you that. I thank my lucky stars every day."

After Tracy's heart attack, Nancy, who works at Blessing Hospital, immediately got a prescription for Chantix to help her quit.

"She thought the pill was really working good," Tracy said. "She's also reading a book about quitting smoking, and it really helped her, too."

The couple are making plans to start working out together to embrace a new, healthy lifestyle.

Tracy already notices a significant difference in how he feels without the cigarettes. He doesn't cough as much or get headaches like he used to, and with the stent in his heart to keep blood flowing through the once-blocked artery, he has more energy.

"Smoking makes your arteries constrict," he said. "I have high cholesterol, too, and we're trying to get that in control. But smoking was the big thing."

Tracy said he smoked mainly to relieve stress.

"There's other things in life you can do to relieve stress," he said. "You don't have to smoke."

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of cancer and premature death in the United States.

In Illinois, about 20.5 percent of adults are smokers, slightly less than the national average. According to the National Interview Survey, 51 percent of smokers have tried to quit, but only 5 percent to 10 percent are successful on any given attempt.

"All I can say is, if you think it can't be done, it can," Tracy said. "Look at me. After 29 years, I've finally closed the door."

-- kwilson@whig.com/221-3391