Former smoker Kim Zbuckvick with something she doesn't need anymore — an ashtray at the outside smoking area at work.

BUTLER TWP — At the age of 16, Kim Zbuckvick began smoking.

Through the years, she wanted to quit and tried to quit.

She knew the health implications of smoking, working at the Butler Regional Cancer Center, which relocated about a year ago to the Benbrook Medical Center on Benbrook Road.

Mostly recently, new pressure has been applied to Pennsylvania smokers, as the legislature considers a statewide smoking ban in public places.

And then, finally, at 39, Zbuckvick found something that has finally worked and she is no longer a smoker.

Dr. Carl Snode, one of the cancer center's doctors, explained that late last year a new drug was introduced to help smokers stop: Chantrix from Pfizer pharmaceutical company.

Snode said as oncologists — doctors who treat cancer — he and his colleagues know that one of the best ways to prevent cancer is to stop smoking.

"About 25 percent of our staff smokes, so the physicians decided that we would offer to pay for three months of Chantix to any employee who wanted to try to stop smoking," he said.

Zbuckvick was one of the employees who jumped at the chance.

"I have tried many times over the years to stop," she said. "And because I had failed in the past, I was somewhat reluctant to start this program, but I decided to give it a chance."

Chantix works by blocking nicotine receptors, decreasing the urge to smoke, Snode said. Patients start the drug several weeks before they quit smoking and slowly taper off their use of tobacco.

Both Zbuckvick and Snode emphasized that it is important for smokers to change routines and habits that lead to smoking.

"I have spent a lot of time riding my bicycle and gardening — keeping busy," Zbuckvick said.

She said that stopping smoking this time has been "manageable. We've gotten a lot of support from coworkers."

Snode also said that other methods also help people stop, such as acupuncture and hypnosis.

Chantix isn't cheap, which is one reason why Snode and his partners decided to buy it for the employees. The drug needs to be used for two to six months.

"Its about $100 per month, but if you look at it, it works out to about the same cost of cigarettes for a month, if not cheaper," Snode said.

As for Zbuckvick, she hasn't smoked since April.

"This (drug) is saving lives," she said.