Quitters Inc.

Stephen King’s “Quitters, Inc.” is a darkly satirical short story about the power of addiction and the cruelty of the self-help and psychological industries that claim to help people struggling to overcome it. Originally published in King’s first collection of short stories Night Shift (1978), the story follows Richard Morrison, who has a cigarette addiction, as he finds himself suddenly trapped in a sadistic and violent recovery program.

As someone who has experienced addiction himself, King often has a thematic interest in the horrors of addiction, mental health conditions, and the potential abuses and dangers of institutional psychology. In “Quitters, Inc.,” he specifically explores the recovery process, utilizing ironic allusion to address themes of Learned Helplessness, The Horror of Pragmatism, and the tension of Addiction Versus Love while satirizing the behavioral therapy models popular among recovery programs of the day. Printed relatively early in his career, this story along with many of the others in Night Shift helped cement the author’s status as the “King of Horror” and was later adapted into a segment included in the 1985 anthology horror film Cat’s Eye.