[Centigonal]

1. GP said "trying to get rid of cigarettes," implying it was not a completed effort.

2. It was (and is) a fairly successful effort:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/1717/tobacco-smoking.aspx

https://www.statista.com/chart/20385/cigarette-sales-in-the-...

[m10i]

In full, he said "trying to get rid of cigarettes and it worked", implying that it was a completed effort, imo.

[Centigonal]

alright, I can see how the sentence could be read that way.