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Each day, nearly 4,000 children 12 to 17 years of age start smoking; of these, nearly 1,140 will become regular smokers.
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Smoking & How to Quit

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Have a helpful hint or motivating thought to share? Tell us your story. Encourage others. Share strategies for quitting smoking. This area is for you.

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Hi! I had been smoking for about seven years. I quit once when I was pregnant with my first baby, but after my son was born I started to smoke again. I don't have any relatives in this country, so I always felt the lack of support, and the cigarettes were helping me deal with stress. Now I’m pregnant with my second baby (just find out) so I want to quit once and forever. It is much harder to find a minute to have a smoke now because I’m a busy mom. I know how hard it is, but I have to quit, because I want my baby to be healthy. I also have a problem with my health and I’m only 23. Smoking can worsen my problem. My children need me and this is why I’m quitting. It is all just a matter of time. Once two weeks pass, you will not want to smoke again. Good luck to everybody who made this decision to quit.

Elena from California

I am so happy to say I quit cold turkey one year ago the 16th of December. I've gained weight, but am losing it. I just want to say it can be done, I did it.

Margie from Texas

After smoking over 21 years, I made a plan to quit the day after my 35th birthday. I am pleased to report I have not smoked a cigarette in 18 days. The one thing I did not expect a week and a half into quitting was the exhaustion that hit me like a ton of bricks. What really helped me was a trip to the pharmacy and a purchase of Vitamin B Complex including some Vitamins C and E, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc. It pumped up my energy and eased the cravings. And considering all the stuff I was pumping into my system with each pack of cigarettes I smoked, I'm pretty sure they are helping my body mend itself. Good luck to all of you. I agree this is the hardest and best thing we could be doing for ourselves. We are all heroes!

Anonymous

I was one of those people who only smoked casually - at the bar, out with friends, that sort of thing. Then I learned that even a few cigarettes a day or even just one once in a while could lead to lung cancer in the future. I also learned that most habits have a 20-year lag time, so although I don't feel the effects now (at age 28), I will when I'm in my 40's. That scared me, so I decided to quit smoking! Now I just try to stay away from the bar scene and from smokers.

Jessica from Massachusetts

I am at the end of my first twenty-four hours as a non-smoker. I have smoked very heavily for the past decade, and smoking is associated with every aspect of my life - personal, professional, emotional, psychological - the mundane and the ridiculous. It's the fact that everything is so intertwined that I find so difficult, and I so yearn for the day when the habits will be broken, the associations a distant memory and my life my own again, without my mind whirring at 1000 rpm. Anyway - I guess it's a voyage of self-discovery - I know it will all be all right in the end, it's just the getting there that makes me nervous! Hang in there!

Virginia

Hello. I am four hours into not smoking and I'm going to make it another hour. I'm 45 and recently became a Deputy Sheriff and I need to be able to complete the academy and that means being able to breathe. I will take minute by minute, hour by hour, and not let anyone or anything take away the strength I have to do it.

Sharon from Virginia

Hi, my name is Connie. I am on my second day of being smoke free. It has been very hard, but I know I will be able to get through it. All my friends and family smoke, so I will try to stay away until the cravings get easier. My sister had lung cancer about 4 years ago and had a lung removed. She now has a very hard time breathing whenever she does anything physical. She still smokes and I am very afraid for her. I quit when she became sick, but I started smoking again. This time I will succeed. I tried to persuade her to quit with me, but she said that cigarettes are her life! Cigarettes are your life, only if you let them be. It has helped me a lot reading all of your stories. I know that I am not alone with this fight. We will succeed!! Good Luck to everyone and thank you.

Connie

I have been smoke free for 4 weeks now. I started smoking when I was 18 and I am now 44. I have wanted to quit for awhile now, but always found the excuse to have one more, or quit after this weekend, etc. The last time I promised myself I would quit after a weekend was 4 weeks ago. I have been sick with a cough and bronchitis. I have never been sick from smoking before and it is scary. I lost my mom to COPD and grew up in a household of smokers. I wish that we had the education then that our kids have now. I am happy that I have quit and it increases the chances that my kids will not smoke. Hang in there. You can do it.

Anonymous

I started smoking in my teens and I am now 53 and feeling the harmful effects of my habit. I just put my cigarettes down five days ago and do not plan on ever picking them back up again. Even though it has only been five days I can feel myself breathe again. What an exhilarating experience! If you have a plan to quit smoking stick with it and don't ever take that first one again.

Anonymous from North Carolina

I am 46 years old, smoked for 33 years. Two packs a day. I have not smoked in 21 months. It was a tough road, I liked my cigarettes, but I like not being a smoker better. They are so bad for a person and before I started having serious health problems I quit. The key to quitting is never pickup that one cigarette because it is never just one. Everyday it got a little more bearable. I now can smell! I really like not being a smoker. I can tell if you are a smoker when you walk into a room now; I smell them. Just make it 6 months and the pain will be over. Just never have that next cigarette.

Anonymous from Texas

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Content last updated December 14, 2006.

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