Real People. Real Stories.

Annette experimented with cigarettes as a teenager, smoking occasionally. But by the time she turned 20, Annette was a regular smoker.

Annette lives in New York and is the mother of three. She also has three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. “I love visits with my family,” says Annette. She has a special bond with her 10-year-old granddaughter, who repeatedly urged Annette to quit smoking. “My granddaughter would say to me, ‘Grandma, don’t smoke; please don’t smoke.’”

When she was 50, Annette finally heeded her granddaughter’s advice and quit cold turkey after having smoked for more than 30 years. But by then she already had cancer. At 52, Annette went to the doctor because she was having difficulty breathing. “It took multiple doctor visits, all kinds of X-rays, and then a PET/CT scan to uncover lung cancer.” The cancer was so advanced that it was necessary to remove one of her lungs.

The operation was successful in removing the cancer. Diligent with her follow-up care, doctors found that Annette had oral cancer a few years later. The cancer had gotten into her jawbone, and surgery was required once again.

Today, at age 57, Annette is cancer-free — and thankful. Her staunch faith helps her deal with the challenges that have resulted from her experience. She loves to crochet, cook, and spend time with her loved ones. She also lends support to smoking cessation groups. “I talk to the smokers and let them know that this can happen to you.”

Through the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign, Annette wants to help others and further spread the message that smoking is dangerous and can even be lethal.

Becky started smoking as a teenager in 1976 when she was a high school exchange student in Germany because some of her host family and friends were smokers. “I started smoking to fit in,” she said. After attending college in Ohio, Becky attended law school to pursue her dream of working as a public defender.

For the next several years, Becky had bouts of bronchitis and a nagging cough. She tried to quit smoking but could not stop, despite warnings from her doctors that she needed to quit. “I just didn’t want to hear it,” said Becky.

At age 45, Becky was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—a serious lung disease that gradually makes it harder and harder to breathe. Becky continued to smoke after she was diagnosed with COPD.

By 2012, Becky often felt out of breath and had no energy. “I couldn’t swim and I couldn’t keep up with my kids. I was slower than molasses,” she recalled. One day, while leaving work, she just couldn’t catch her breath. Frightened, she called 911. When the ambulance arrived, Becky was immediately given oxygen. The next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

After being released from the hospital, Becky went to see a lung specialist, who shared some grim news with her. He told Becky that she needed a lung transplant. She eventually had to quit her job, and her new job was going to be pulmonary rehab. Pulmonary rehab is an intensive medical program designed to help people with breathing problems and can include:

Education about how to manage one’s lung condition
Energy-saving techniques
Breathing strategies
Exercise training
Nutritional counseling
Counseling and/or group support
“I wasn’t expecting any of this. That absolutely floored me. I just didn’t see it coming,” Becky said. After receiving such devastating news, Becky tried to stop smoking but continued to take an occasional puff or two. But she soon realized that in order to live, she had to quit. “I finally put cigarettes down for good when it became obvious to me that the dang things were really going to kill me. They had already stolen so much from me; I was not going to let them kill me outright,” said Becky. Thanks to pulmonary rehab, Becky hasn’t needed a lung transplant yet.

Becky admits that at first, she didn’t understand just how severely smoking had affected her health. She has since come to focus on the positive aspects of having quit smoking. “This doesn’t have to be a death sentence for me; I’m still young,” said Becky, now 54 years of age. “I still have something to do here. My two girls need me.”

Becky regrets that she put her family through such a difficult ordeal—particularly her children. “It’s not the childhood for them that I pictured. It’s certainly not the teenage years that I pictured.” As for cigarettes, Becky now remains smokefree. Although she has to take her oxygen tank with her wherever she goes, she appreciates the lifesaving benefits it provides her every day. “The oxygen gives me freedom. It allows me to get up and do things, instead of staying in bed all day.”

Becky is passionate about the importance of seeing a doctor if you have any symptoms of COPD. Because of her experience, she is open and frank with others about the health risks associated with smoking. When asked about her oxygen tank, she says, “I just tell them straight up: ‘You know, it helps me breathe. And it’s because I smoked.’”

Brian, age 63, grew up in Chicago. Both of his parents smoked. Brian started smoking at a young age, and by the time he was in eighth grade, he was smoking a pack of cigarettes each day. “My parents found out that I was smoking when I was 12, but that didn’t stop me,” he said.

At age 19, Brian joined the Air Force and was assigned to work at an Air Force base in California. He soon fell in love and married his sweetheart, a girlfriend he had previously dated. Brian had many responsibilities as a master sergeant in the Air Force. As a result, he struggled with job stress and often smoked cigarettes to cope.

One morning, while stationed in England, Brian had chest pains while walking at work. He was out of breath and sweating, and the pain became intense and worsened. Suddenly, he collapsed. Brian was having a heart attack at age 35. The next day, he had an angioplasty—a procedure in which a surgeon uses a balloon-like device to open up a blocked blood vessel. Brian slowly regained his strength but kept smoking. “The moment I walked out of the hospital, I started sneaking cigarettes again,” he said.

While on leave after his heart attack, Brian had more chest pains. He was admitted to an Air Force hospital in San Antonio, where he was diagnosed with a serious arrhythmia—an irregular heartbeat that can be life threatening. Brian underwent surgery to have a defibrillator put in his chest. A defibrillator is a device that helps regulate abnormal heartbeats.

During the next several years, Brian needed more heart surgeries. Eventually, his doctor told him that his heart was so damaged that he would need a heart transplant. This would be the beginning of a long and difficult journey for Brian and his family. Brian understood that not everybody who needs a transplant is able to get one, but he hoped that he would be one of the lucky ones.

Several months later, Brian’s name was added to a national heart transplant waiting list. He and his family were thrilled. But that feeling didn’t last long. One evening, Brian’s doctor called with some bad news. Brian’s name had been removed from the transplant list. The reason? Brian’s lab results showed that he still smoked. “It was caught in a routine blood test for nicotine exposure,” he said. Brian was devastated.

Brian had run out of treatment options, and his health was getting worse. He was determined to quit smoking so that he could have a chance to live. In the spring of 2009, Brian joined a smoking cessation class in a military hospital. “I did everything they told me to do, and I never looked back,” he said. Because he remained smokefree, he eventually was put back on the list for a heart transplant.

In 2012, Brian received a long-awaited heart transplant. The transplant gave him new hope, but he understood the seriousness of the surgery. “They told me that a heart transplant is not a cure. I have a weakened immune system, so I can’t attend events where there are lots of people and little kids,” he said. Brian’s heart transplant, a healthier lifestyle, and quitting cigarettes for good gave him a new outlook on life.

While Brian remained smokefree, the damage caused by years of smoking continued to affect his body. In 2017, at age 63, Brian was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had surgery to remove part of his lung.

Now living in Texas, Brian is glad he quit smoking for good. “Every day is a gift to spend time with my wife and grandkids. If I’m around after everything I’ve been through, other people can have hope too.”

During high school, smoking was what all the “cool” kids were doing (or so Christine thought), and she wanted to fit in, so she began smoking at age 16. She became addicted and continued smoking for 28 years.

In 2007, at age 44, her life would change forever. After spotting a growth inside her cheek, which she thought was a canker sore, Christine went to see her family doctor. Her doctor sent her to an oral surgeon, who did a biopsy of the sore, and it revealed oral cancer.

After 35 radiation treatments and chemotherapy, Christine seemed to be cured. But the cancer returned in 2008; this time surgery was her only option. Her third bout with oral cancer in 2009 was even more serious. She learned it had spread to her jawbone, classifying it as stage IV.

The numerous radiation treatments had already cost Christine her teeth and had extensively damaged her mouth. During a 10-hour surgery, the doctors had to remove half of her jaw. “I’m missing a quarter of my face. People stare at me all the time,” she says. That doesn’t stop Christine from being in the public eye and serving as a role model for quitting smoking or never starting.

Christine is now 55 and has been smoke-free for 11 years. She spends her time offering support for the Oral Cancer Foundation, where she’s a board administrator and volunteer patient advocate. She also gives speeches about oral cancer and the dangers of smoking. “Tobacco is not cool, not cool at all! It almost cost me my life,” says Christine. “Even though the surgery and cancer treatments were hard, I’m thankful for them. They gave me the chance to keep living and keep building happy memories with my children.”

Through the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign, Christine hopes kids will learn that there are so many other things to spend their time and money on.

 

At age 50, Felicita went to the dentist to have one tooth pulled and learned that all her teeth needed to come out. She was a smoker and had severe gum disease. Felicita had already lost some teeth, but losing every last tooth in her mouth came as a terrible shock. Like many people with gum disease, she did not have a lot of pain as the disease got worse. But the tissues and bone structures holding her teeth in place were breaking down. On a sunny Florida day, Felicita’s dentist pulled out 23 teeth and fitted her for false teeth (dentures).

“It was very, very hard,” says Felicita. It took a month for her mouth to heal from surgery. She had to learn how to eat, drink, and talk all over again. Felicita doesn’t like the way her dentures fit, so she only uses the top set, and her mouth gets sore easily. She eats only soft foods or puts her meals in a blender—even lettuce.

Felicita doesn’t smile much anymore, now that she has dentures. “I don’t like the way people look at me,” she says. “I feel ashamed of myself, really. I feel like I destroyed my health and my appearance with cigarettes.”

Felicita thought smoking made her look cool when she started at age 12. She grew up in New York with a rich Puerto Rican heritage and many family members who smoked. In fact, her mother gave Felicita permission to smoke, as long as she paid for her own cigarettes. And so began 33 years of smoking. Felicita smoked about 1 ½ packs a day.

Life moved quickly: marriage; two children right away; work; two more children; and early health problems for her first husband, who was also a smoker. Felicita brushed, flossed her teeth, and saw a dentist regularly, but by her mid-30s, her gums were bleeding. At age 40, her teeth were loose, and one even fell out at home. While Felicita knew that smoking caused lung problems, she still didn’t realize that it greatly added to the problems in her mouth.

Felicita wanted to quit for many years, and when she was 45, she did it. But she smoked for more than 30 years and now had bad gum disease. The bleeding got worse, leaving stains on her pillow at night. One day at a work luncheon, a coworker whispered, “You’re bleeding,” with a look of disgust. Felicita hurried to the dentist, who said that all her teeth were damaged beyond repair and had to be pulled out.

Today, at age 54, Felicita loves being a nonsmoker. She can now keep up with her children on walks and takes dance classes. “I feel much better. I feel like I came back to life,” Felicita says. But she doesn’t like to eat out, where people sometimes stare at the way she slurps her food—and there’s a chance that her ill-fitting dentures could fall into her soup. She misses biting into pizza, corn, peanuts, apples, and the traditional pork dishes served at family gatherings. Felicita hopes that her story will help other people quit smoking.

18-year-old Jamason has asthma. He never really understood the dangers of secondhand smoke until it triggered an asthma attack that he said almost killed him. “I couldn’t get air into my lungs. I was so scared. I couldn’t breathe!” he says. Jamason has never smoked cigarettes. Even when friends tried to talk him into it, he would reply, “It’s just not cool to smoke.”

As an infant, Jamason was diagnosed with asthma that seemed manageable until his teens. His mother Sherri, who is a nurse, started noticing that when he hung out with friends who smoked, Jamason would wheeze and have trouble breathing.

His worst attack occurred when he was 16 years old. It was at a fast food restaurant where he worked. He was sweeping close to some coworkers who were smoking. “My chest got really tight,” says Jamason. “I was just trying to breathe, trying to get air in my lungs. I couldn’t bear it.” Jamason called his mother, frantic for help. She found him struggling to breathe. Sherri remembers that day all too well. “When I arrived, he was gasping and he told me he couldn’t get air. I was very scared,” she says. “I just did whatever I could to save my child, because I know asthma attacks can be deadly.” She drove Jamason to the hospital, where he stayed for 4 days. “When secondhand smoke triggers your asthma, you don’t know how severe the asthma attack is going to be,” says Sherri.

Throughout his days at the hospital, Jamason had breathing treatments every 2 to 4 hours. When he was breathing comfortably again, he felt relieved but was afraid to leave the hospital. “I wanted to go home,” he says, “but, then again, I didn’t, because I knew there was no smoking inside the hospital. But outside, in the real world, people smoke. I was afraid. I didn’t want to have to go through that again.”

Jamason worries that at any time and anywhere, someone’s cigarette smoke could trigger another asthma attack. It’s a constant fear. Today, Jamason feels comfortable asking people not to smoke around him, and he shares with them the dangers of secondhand smoke. “Secondhand smoke can trigger severe asthma attacks in people of all ages,” he says. For Jamason, it’s a matter of life and death. He explains that he parted ways with one friend who wouldn’t stop smoking around him. “I told him we just couldn’t be friends anymore.”

After high school, Jamason plans to go to college. He was excited to hear that there are smoke-free campuses. “Oh, wow; I didn’t know that. I could go to college without worrying about having an asthma attack from breathing other people’s smoke. That’s very appealing!”

Julia tried her first cigarette out of curiosity when she was in her early twenties. She had left her large family in Mississippi for the adventure and opportunities of living in New York. Within a year of that first puff, Julia was addicted and smoking a pack a day. Getting sick never entered her mind. She continued to smoke for many years, and at age 49, Julia was diagnosed with colon cancer, which is a danger for all smokers.

Julia’s first symptoms were cramps, gas, diarrhea, and vomiting, which she tried to manage on her own for a while. One day her pain and bloating got much, much worse. She was back living in Mississippi—raising her young son near her family: her mother, three sisters, and three brothers. Her sister took her to the doctor for a colonoscopy, a simple exam of the colon that uses a narrow tube and a tiny camera. That exam helped saved her life.

“I will never forget that day. I was so sick. They found the tumor in my colon and rushed me to the hospital,” said Julia. The tumor completely blocked her intestines, which can be life threatening. Julia had surgery right away, followed by months of chemotherapy to treat the cancer. She also needed an ostomy bag, which was taped to a hole in her abdomen to collect waste.

“When my son came to the hospital and saw me laying there with the tubes and stuff, he just broke down. He was just 9 years old then. But he just broke down,” said Julia.

Over the years, Julia had tried to quit smoking. She stopped while she was pregnant and made every effort not to smoke around her son. Family members kept urging her to quit. “My niece said, ‘Think about your child. What means more to you, him or the cigarettes?’ I knew they weren’t good for me, but I was addicted.”

Julia’s family members kept after her to quit smoking, and they supported her in the first hard days as she adjusted to life without cigarettes. “My colostomy was an important part of my healing process. It allowed me to heal and prevented me from getting an infection or worse. I would do it again, because it saved my life.”

Today, Julia says her life is so much better without cigarettes—her energy, her breathing, and her strong voice in the church choir. “My singing voice is better than it ever has been.”

Julia hopes that people who hear her story about smoking and colon cancer will quit as soon as possible. “If I can just help one person to realize that it’s not worth your time. It’s not worth your health,” said Julia. “Think about your family and just think about your life!”

“I was given a second chance to live,” says Mariano, who is Hispanic and lives in Illinois. He started smoking at 15, and at the age of 47, Mariano woke up feeling dizzy and sick. He also started sweating a lot. Mariano went to his doctor, who told him that he was on the verge of having a heart attack. “He told me, ‘You have a very big problem with your arteries. Your blood pressure is very high,'” says Mariano. He was hospitalized that day. Three days later, he had open heart surgery to replace blocked blood vessels in his heart. “I got lucky,” he says. “I smoked my last cigarette when I got the notice about the surgery. I should have quit smoking years ago and probably could have avoided all these problems.” He hasn’t smoked since.

Mariano started smoking when he was 15 years old because a girl asked him for a cigarette, and he wanted to impress her. His family didn’t know he smoked until he was 18 years old. Eventually, he was smoking two packs a day. Mariano says he didn’t realize the damage cigarette smoking was having on his health year after year until he faced open heart surgery. “I knew then that big problems were caused from smoking cigarettes.”

“The open-heart surgery I had in 2004 was brutal,” he recalls. “Especially when I think that if I had quit smoking years ago, I could have avoided all these problems.” Even though his recovery from the surgery was painful, Mariano realized how lucky he was not to have a heart attack that day—and that he didn’t die. He is grateful for having been given a second chance at life.

“After the surgery, the doctor told me the sooner I walked, the better.” So, Mariano walked the floor of the hospital. When he went home, he started walking around the house, then eventually around the block. A month later, he was walking 10 blocks. Without cigarettes, Mariano found he had more energy. “When I smoked, I couldn’t walk 4 blocks. Now I can walk 5 miles without a problem!” Along with having more energy, Mariano, who loves to cook, noticed that food tastes better now that he doesn’t smoke.

“Everything is different now,” he says. Following the surgery and after he quit smoking, Mariano decided to live his life in a different way. He now takes more time to enjoy family and friends, including his young child. He was able to go back to work and now he only accepts jobs in smoke-free environments. “I see the consequences of smoking and secondhand smoke,” he says. Mariano says he is paying the price for smoking. He constantly has to monitor his health and will have to take medications the rest of his life.

Mariano lifts up his shirt and points to the long scar on his chest that reminds him of his close call and says, “When I see someone who smokes, I say, ‘Look at this scar. Do you want to have this? Sooner or later, the time will come when you will likely have something like this.’ I had a wake-up call, and now I feel good.” Mariano is determined to keep it that way. He quit smoking and never looked back.

Rico, age 48, started smoking at age 14. As a high school student, he had access to tobacco because his father was a smoker. “My dad would ask me to light his cigarette, and instead of just handing it to him, I would take some puffs first. My dad would laugh, and this encouraged me,” Rico said. Before he knew it, smoking cigarettes became an addiction.

Rico continued smoking into adulthood because most of his friends were smokers and cigarettes were always available. Then he experienced a personal tragedy. “My dad died of liver cancer, but that didn’t ring a bell for me, so I kept smoking. My doctors told me to quit smoking, but the warnings fell on deaf ears. I was already addicted.”

When he was 45, Rico began feeling sick. Even though he didn’t feel well, he kept smoking. A biopsy (a test in which cells from a person’s body are examined under a microscope) showed that Rico had cancer. He and his family were devastated.

In addition to his physical recovery, Rico’s emotional recovery was a long and challenging process. “It was a very difficult time. I became depressed because I was unemployed and needed a long time to recover. I was too sick to work, and we lost our house because I couldn’t afford the mortgage. We lost everything we had,” he said. Rico knew he needed additional support, so, after his surgery, he moved to California to be near his sister.

Once there, Rico’s wife found a job as a nurse, and he was alone most of the time. “I studied a lot and looked for jobs online. When I was suffering from depression after my surgery, my wife lifted me up with positive thoughts about my skills to start and manage a business,” he said.

To fight his depression, Rico focused on personal development and leadership skills. He eventually started two companies. “I currently serve as the CEO of a home-care corporation and manage operations at a vocational school as its executive director,” he said.

Of all of Rico’s accomplishments, one of his proudest is his commitment to quit smoking and to stay quit. “When I found out I had cancer, I quit smoking. I just wanted to be healthy—and be able to watch my children grow up,” he said.

Rico is a cancer survivor who feels passionate about sharing his story and educating others about the health consequences of smoking. In 2013, he started working for a nonprofit organization in Oakland, California, and became a volunteer for its program to help people stop smoking. “As a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. Addiction is a very difficult battle to win, but it can be done,” he said. Rico says that ever since he’s quit smoking, time spent with his wife and children is even more precious. “Now that I’ve quit, I can be a part of my children’s lives as they mature.”

Growing up in the seventies, it seemed to Sharon like everyone smoked cigarettes. She was only 13 when she took her first puff. In no time, her casual smoking would turn into a full-blown and expensive addiction.

She smoked heavily for 25 years. The wife and mother of two knew something was wrong when she felt fatigued and nauseous regularly. Sharon also noticed a growth on her throat. A biopsy would reveal a cancerous tumor in her throat so large it could be seen through the skin on her neck. The discomfort was unbearable. “I could barely drink water,” she says.

In 1997, at just 37, Sharon was diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer. She underwent radiation and several surgeries. Her life changed drastically, but she adds, “Life goes on after cancer.”

Today, Sharon is 58 and takes things one day at a time. She communicates using an electrolarynx, given that her voice box had to be removed. Smoke-free for 14 years and counting, Sharon knows that if she was able to quit, anyone can. “I used to wake up in the middle of the night to smoke, and it was the first thing I did in the morning,” she says.

Through the efforts of the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign, Sharon hopes to spread the message that smoking can lead to devastating outcomes. “I want to connect with kids especially, because they are under a lot of pressure to fit in,” she says.