‘‘I was tired of feeling chained to something,” Giacometti said, as he craved cigarettes and often smoked several packs a day. ‘‘The addictive part of it was taking over the pleasure of it.”

Giacometti, lead petty officer of the National Naval Medical Center’s Urology Clinic, also wanted to ensure a healthy lifestyle for his family — he and his wife are expecting their first child in the spring.

Giacometti said he never felt the side effects of smoking. Cigarettes didn’t seem to slow him down while he was running or exercising. Still, he wanted to break free from the addiction.

‘‘I know it’s [cliché], but determination and will are really what got me through [the process of quitting],” he said.

Giacometti also attributes his success in quitting to the tobacco cessation courses at NNMC, which he said helped him realize the benefits of quitting. It also helped him identify the ‘‘triggers” he should avoid to keep him from wanting a cigarette.

‘‘The classes are really a tool that will help you,” he said.

In addition, Giacometti used prescribed medication to help with his withdrawal symptoms.

He is already feeling the positive impact of being tobacco-free, he said. He is saving money by not buying cigarettes – about $5 per day, which will add up to roughly $1,800 in a year, he said.

Margaret Schroeder, a Navy dependent, also found success in quitting thanks to the tobacco cessation courses at NNMC. She had been a smoker for roughly 60 years.

When her doctor suggested she take the class for health concerns, she said, she decided to give it a try. Since the day she quit, Sept. 14, she has already noticed the health benefits.

‘‘I feel better, my breathing is better,” she said. ‘‘I don’t get as tired, and I don’t waste as much time ... and I can focus better.”

Schroeder said she found the class not only informational, but also encouraging. Course leaders and other participants gave her the support she needed to make it through the difficulties of quitting.

Fortunately for smokers who want to quit, or who are willing to quit, there are several resources available at NNMC, said Adrienne Brantley, NNMC’s tobacco treatment coordinator. There are support group sessions, individual counselors and online courses.

This week, NNMC’s Health Promotion Office is participating in a national campaign to help smokers quit. The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke Out, an annual event, offers smokers the opportunity to cut back for a day, Nov. 20, Brantley said, which in turn can help them realize they can do it.

It’s a chance for smokers to make a long-term plan to quit for good, she said.

NNMC’s Health Promotion Office has set up informational booths on Main Street, which will be displayed until today, she said. There, staff members can sign up to sponsor a smoker for the Great American Smoke Out day, which is Saturday. At the booth, smokers can also commit to cut down or remain tobacco-free for that day.

In addition, smokers can exchange their tobacco products at the booth for ‘‘smokeless sweets,” such as gum and lollipops, she said, which smokers can chew on instead of reaching for a cigarette.

Since Giacometti has quit smoking, he said, he has found he can focus more clearly because he is no longer distracted by his cigarette cravings.

‘‘I also wake up much more easily, and I have more energy,” he said.

Giacometti said he recommends the tobacco cessation courses, but knows that smokers must ultimately make the decision to quit.

‘‘You can bring a horse to the water, but you can’t make him drink it,” he said. ‘‘You have to have the will to quit.”