Corey Johnson Opens Up About Quitting Smoking, Joining Juul Nation

Council Speaker Corey Johnson in his City Hall, before he quit smoking

Corey Johnson just bought his first Juul.

The NYC Council Speaker quit the combustibles on May 1st. But after a decade of sucking down a pack of Parliament 100s each day, kicking the habit proved harder than expected. So like many aspiring quitters (coughs, ex-smokerly) he turned to the e-cigarette. His cartridge of choice is tobacco—a dignified, if not particularly hip flavor, and not one of the ones his legislative body is in the process of outlawing. Mostly he just misses cigarettes.

While Johnson has not spoken publicly about his Juul use, he's repeatedly discussed his efforts to quit smoking. On Twitter, the sophomore speaker has shared frequent updates about giving up cigarettes, admitting when he is “really, really struggling” or passing out tips to beat cravings. It’s hardly out of character: he also tweets about his love life, his frustration with cops confiscating e-bikes, and videos of him singing Lady Gaga.

Johnson, who is 37 years old, HIV-positive and sober, tells Gothamist that his candid online persona is all part of his quest to live “openly and authentically.” Speaking frankly about battling his smoking addiction, he says, is his way to "take the shame and stigma out of it."

Last week, we spoke by phone with City Hall’s most powerful ex-smoker to discuss the monkey on his back, as well as e-cigarettes, marijuana, smoking bans in public housing, and presidential candidate Bill de Blasio.

How are you doing?

I miss smoking.

I miss smoking, too. But you know, it’s a good thing. I guess. People say it’s good.

It's fucking hard, man. The last few days have been really hard. I thought the first two days were not that hard, maybe because I was excited. I was like, "I'm doing it!" Then I settled in and it's hard. Yesterday was two weeks. It’s day 15.

Have you cheated at all?

I just started using a Juul. Last night I was freaking out. I walked to the bodega to buy a pack of cigarettes. I put on my sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I was like, "I need a fucking cigarette." I got to the bodega that I always bought cigarettes from, I looked up, and I was like, "Oh, there are Juuls right there. Maybe I should buy one of those." So, I bought a Juul instead. It's not nearly as satisfying. But it's better for you than a cigarette.

How much were you smoking before?

Oh, I smoked at least a pack a day for 10 years. I was a chain smoker. Sometimes I would smoke three cigarettes in a row. I'd put one out and I'd have another right away.

How does being a chain-smoking elected official work? Are you lighting up in the bathroom of City Hall? On the roof?

I would always stand on the east side of City Hall facing the Brooklyn Bridge. I would go outside many, many times a day to smoke. Even in my own apartment, I never ever smoked indoors. I would smoke outside in the middle of the winter. I'd smoke in a blizzard.

I had a whole routine. It’s the first thing I did in the morning when I woke up, before I took a shower, before I had a cup of coffee. It's the last thing I did at night before I brushed my teeth and went to bed. I'd smoke in the car. I'd smoke on the phone. I'd smoke on my stoop. I had it down.

I feel like I really enjoyed smoking, and I guess I forget the parts I didn't enjoy—having to constantly wash my hands and my face to try to get the smell off of me. I didn't enjoy those things, but I forget about them when I'm in the middle of a craving. I'm being nostalgic about it. I feel like I lost my best friend a little bit. That feels like a sad, pathetic thing to say.

You’ve talked openly about overcoming past addictions, including alcohol and cocaine. Does this feel like the last mountain for you?

I always say that my biggest accomplishment was getting sober, in July of 2009, at 27 years old. I had only really been a serious drinker and drug user for six years. When I got sober, that's when I started really smoking. I smoked a little bit when I drank, but I didn't buy packs of cigarettes. I would bum cigarettes off people when I was drinking. When I got sober, it was sort of my way to still have something.

It feels like the final mountain to climb, and it feels much harder than quitting alcohol and drugs. I wasn't a daily drinker. I was kind of a weekend warrior. But smoking I do every day, multiple times a day. It was much more part of my routine. This feels much, much harder than getting sober.

The thing about the Juul is that feeds those addictive impulses so seamlessly, it’s almost scary. I’ve seen so many people who thought they were quitting smoking, only to end up with this robot tube basically attached to their hands…

I'm not happy that I bought the Juul. I feel bad about it, but also I'm trying not to self judge. Even though my own sobriety has been one that is centered on abstinence—not drinking or using drugs at all—I do believe in harm reduction model as well. I'm trying to be easy on myself, and telling myself this is better than smoking cigarettes, even though I wish I wasn't using a Juul.

On a citywide level, the drop-off in smoking rates has been in a lot of ways set back by the explosion in popularity of e-cigarettes, particularly among young people. Are you worried that too many New Yorkers are vaping?

I feel sort of split. I'd rather people of course not smoke and not vape at all. But again if using a Juul and vaping gets people away from cigarettes, which are a lot more destructive, and bad for one's health, then I think it's a step in the right direction. Though, nicotine is not a great thing for you, regardless of how you're taking it in.

It's very, very hard. My hope is that the Juul for me is just kind of going to be a bridge. It's not going to be something I do forever, but it's going to help take the edge off in the short term. I'm not using a nicotine patch. I'm not using Nicorette gum or Chantix. I've been hypnotized before, but it didn't work for me.

Some people find smoking pot helps.

No, no. When I smoked [marijuana] before I got sober I thought Armageddon was coming. I wanted the biggest bag of Cool Ranch Doritos on the planet. It wasn't a good combination for me.

It’s still unclear whether New York is going to legalize marijuana this year on the state level. In the city, the mayor told the NYPD to stop arresting New Yorkers for smoking pot in public. But the directive has a host of exceptions that some drug policy advocates say essentially swallows the rule—for people on parole or probation, or with a misdemeanor or felony warrant, or if the person does not have identification, among other things. Should the NYPD be arresting these people for smoking in public?

There potentially could be some exceptions that I'm not thinking of, but we should first say that it's already legal to smoke pot in New York City if you're white. This has been racially disproportionate, and totally criminalized people of color for years and years and years. The right way to handle this is to create a regulatory framework and handle these things in a thoughtful, rational way.

Right now, the highest number of people that are being sent back to Rikers Island are parole violators. They're typically for minor crimes like smoking pot or violating a curfew charge. These are not reasons to re-incarcerate people. The costs to society and the individual is too high, and there has to be more rational ways to think about this. Just like I am not for significant exemptions to congestion pricing, I am not for creating a Swiss cheese-like policy on marijuana. I think you need to have some level of consistency and rationality on these policies.

I hope the state does move forward with figuring this out. It's disappointing that New Jersey wasn't able to do it, and it would be disappointing if the legislators in New York weren't able to get this across the finish line.

New federal guidelines handed down last summer required all public housing to become smoke-free, with individual municipalities allowed to create their own specific rules for enforcement. Shortly after, NYCHA announced that tenants could now be evicted if they violated the indoor smoking ban. Do you think public housing residents should face eviction for smoking in their own homes?

Well, it's a complicated issue. It's complicated because smoke travels, so even if you're smoking in your own apartment, it gets through cracks, crevices, air shafts and vents. So, it gets into other people's apartments, and into public spaces. Secondhand smoke, and third hand smoke affects people in a very serious way. Even if you're smoking in your own apartment, it likely is not just affecting you, it's affecting your neighbors, and people in your building.

I don't think the first course of action for the Housing Authority is going to be to bring eviction proceedings against individuals. It's going to have to be a escalating system of punishment and warnings. Ultimately we don't want people smoking indoors because it's a public health measure, and we want to protect people. So, the Housing Authority and HUD have to figure out what exactly that escalating punishment would be. It's a balance between protecting people who live in public housing, while at the same time not evicting people who are really struggling with quitting, and getting them the help that they need.

Now I’m wondering if smokers should have an advocate in local government. Who’s the most powerful smoker in City Hall these days?

I mean, there are multiple members of the City Council who smoke. I'm not going to shame them because I think most people are not proud of their smoking. But, you know, the mayor doesn't smoke, the comptroller doesn't smoke, and the public advocate doesn't smoke. Now, the speaker of the city council doesn't smoke. So we're heading in the right direction.

You don't seem to have much shame about this process. What's driving you to share this battle online with so many people?

I think it's multiple things. I've always said one of the biggest lessons I've learned in my own recovery from alcohol and drugs is that you're only as sick as your secret. It's better not to have secrets, and it's better to be open, and really take the shame and stigma out of things. For me, that's been around my own recovery, that's been around my sexual orientation since I was 16 years old, that's been around my HIV status.

So, I'm someone that tries to live openly and authentically—that's number one. Number two is I think it creates a level of accountability for me, which is good. Hopefully, it inspires other people who are struggling and or having a hard time sharing. It creates a little bit of a community for people to know that they're not alone. So, I think those are kind of the three things of why I've been sharing so openly about it.

Apparently when President Obama was trying to quit in the White House, there were some anti-smoking advocates who were disappointed that he didn’t more publicly discuss it.

I understand that. I had shame about it for a very, very long time. I understand that instinct of not wanting to talk about it or be publicly associated with it. But for me I think this is the best way to go about it.

Speaking of...presidents: Mayor de Blasio is widely expected to declare his candidacy this week [ed note: he did!]. What are your feelings on the mayor running for president?

Oh, I don't know. Everyone's running, and I think not many people are going to get to the finish line. Not many people are probably going to make it to the caucuses. I don't even say that personally about the mayor. I say that generally about the field of candidates. I think it's going to be hard for him. Maybe harder than other people because the level of intensity for the job of being the mayor of New York City. The number of emergencies and unexpected events that happen every single day in the largest and greatest city in the world—it’s constant.

I think that's going to be a challenge for him. When you're traveling and unexpected things pop up, the New York City press corps and New Yorkers, understandably, are going to be giving you an extra level of scrutiny and attention. I think it's going to be a challenge for him—that's a downside. An upside for him, I guess, is you get to go out there and talk about what you're proud of in a concrete way. As a mayor, not just this mayor, but any mayor, you can talk about that in concrete terms. That's more than just casting a vote in the United State Senate, but talking about things like universal pre-K and other progressive policies that you're proud of.

He has not asked for my advice. If he did ask for it, I would say: "Be authentic, be joyful, be a cheerleader and champion for New York City, have a message that inspires people, and make New York City proud."

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.