'A Family in Crisis'

A Lodi couple gets help from Oprah with smoking addiction

When Lodi resident Wendie Taber, 35, saw on Oprah Winfrey's Web site that the celebrity host was looking for guests that wrestled with their smoking addiction, she immediately responded.

But Taber, a smoker since age 12, never really intended on kicking the habit. She just wanted to meet Oprah.

"I always thought I'd meet Oprah one day," said Taber. "I've always admired her as a woman."

But Taber and her husband, Tony Taber, did quit smoking and credit Oprah with giving them the skills not only to quit smoking, but to communicate with each other and raise their daughter.

One of a series of episodes chronicling the Taber's troubles aired for the first time Tuesday afternoon.

The day after Wendie Taber responded to the show's call for guests in late 2007, a representative from "The Oprah Winfrey Show" called. Soon, Wendie Taber was filming her battle with tobacco in video diaries.

In early January, Wendie Taber appeared on the show along with nine other guests who were trying to extinguish their addictions.

"The first time I walked through her studio I bawled," said Wendie Taber, a longtime fan, who said she identifies with the talk-show mogul. "Our paths are similar, but different."

Three people returned to the show Jan. 30 for an update on their progress. And while Wendie Taber was doing well, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a regular guest on "The Oprah Show," said the chances of Wendie Taber staying smoke-free while her husband continued to smoke were slim.

"(Oz' words) took all my hope and just smashed it," Wendie Taber said later, recalling the taping.

Tony Taber experimented with tobacco at an early age and began smoking regularly at 16.

His mother caught him smoking in his early teens and decided to make him smoke the whole pack, in the hope that he would get sick.

He didn't.

Wendie and Tony Taber married eight years ago, but have been together for 16 years.

Cigarettes have put a constant strain on their relationship, a strain that only intensified when Wendie Taber quit while Tony Taber continued to smoke.

Oprah and Dr. Oz were so stuck by the couple's strife that they decided to dedicate an entire third episode, called "Emergency House Call: Dr. Oz and a Family in Crisis," to repairing the family. That episode aired Tuesday afternoon.

The couple had to sign a waiver that limited what they could say about the show's inner workings, but did offer some thoughts about the experience.

Dr. Oz showed up at the couple's Lodi home in early February and talked Wendie, Tony and their daughter Bailee Taber, 5, through their difficulties.

The episode plays clips of Dr. Oz counseling the family. While watching the episode Tuesday, Wendie Taber broke down as she watched Bailee tell Dr. Oz that she goes to her room and hides under the covers when her parents argue.

What the aired version doesn't show is Dr. Oz whisking Tony Taber away to a local drugstore, asking for a prescription pad and prescribing Wellbutrin, a drug that helps reduce cigarette cravings and lessens withdrawal symptoms.

Dr. Oz picked up a few anti-smoking patches, a stuffed toy for Bailee and posed for pictures with the drugstore staff before leaving.



The family returned to Oprah's Chicago studios Feb. 14 for a follow up interview.

Neither Wendie nor Tony has smoked since Dr. Oz' visit.

From Martha Beck, a life coach and regular contributor to the show, the couple has learned stronger communication and parenting skills.

Though most of their contact was on the studio's stage, the Taber's say Oprah is "very real."

"She's everything that she portrays herself to be," Wendie Taber said. "She's that and more."

Wendie Taber said, initially, she had doubts about how much of herself she wanted to expose on national television, but those fears subsided with the staff's support.

"She pretty much told us it's not about you. It's about how we can help the public," Wendie Taber said.

Wendie Taber still gets the urge to smoke. A whiff of a cigarette on the street, the sight of someone smoking on television and even talking about the Marlboros she used to smoke makes her want to run for her lighter.

She said she misses the community and the escape that smoking used to provide for her.

But with the Oprah Show's help, Wendie, Tony and Bailee Taber are on their way to leading happier, healthier lives.

"I don't know if Oprah's changed my life, but she's given me the tools," Wendie Taber said.

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.

This story was updated at 8:15 a.m. April 18, 2008, to correct the number of people who returned to the show Jan. 30.