Mark Ballas' 'Blueprint' to quit smoking

Most of you know handsome pro dancer Mark Ballas from ABC's hit series "Dancing with the Stars," but the athletic dancer had a dirty secret...he struggled with cigarette smoking for years.

Now Ballas has recently partnered with Blueprint to Quit and he talked to us about his journey to quit smoking. Mark has tried to quit over 30 times, and has finally found a program that he's really passionate about.

For the New Year, Mark wants his fans to know there is real help in making that life saving resolution.

Monsters and Critics: Why Blueprint to Quit?

Mark Ballas: I tried quitting so many times before with no help, just willpower alone and always found myself going back to cigarettes. So this time, I approached it differently – Blueprint to Quit helped me not rely on cigarettes anymore. What I like about the program is it gave my quitting structure. When you quit by yourself, all it takes is a moment of stress and you risk reaching for a cigarette. With Blueprint to Quit, I used the NicoDerm CQ patch, I just put it on in the morning and didn’t think about it the rest of the day. I also used the second part of the program which was online support from QuitNet. If I was having a rough day or a craving I could just log in and get the support I needed to stick it out.

M&C: There's a ton of research now emerging that e-cigarettes are not healthy, any concerns?

MB: I have heard of e-cigarettes but haven’t personally used one. For me, I wanted something that provided me with a way to quit smoking completely and gave me the support I needed so I didn’t depend on cigarettes anymore. I liked that Blueprint to Quit is a 360 approach with both the NicoDerm CQ patch and online support on QuitNet from experts and other quitters. And, now I don’t even think about cigarettes.

M&C: How long did you smoke and what was it that made you want to do it? What was your turning point to quit?

MB: I started smoking around age 16, so all in all around 11 years. It started off as sneaking a cigarette here and there, even smoking in the bathroom at school. Growing up in England, a lot of my family and friends smoked, so what started off as social smoking grew into a ...at one time... pack-a-day habit over the years. When I started to feel my stamina and breathing being affected, I knew it was time to quit for good. I lead an overall healthy life and smoking just isn’t a part of that.