Cassandra

Cassandra
New York,
36 years old
Smoking for 15 years

Although she says none of her family or friends smokes, cigarettes are a big part of Cassandra's life. "Everything that I do, I associate with smoking," she says.

Even during the freezing-cold winter months, Cassandra steps outside to have a cigarette. To keep the smell of smoke from clinging to her, Cassandra says she even has a special set of "smoking clothes" she puts on before lighting up. "If I was going inside the home, I would put on my nonsmoking clothes after I washed up and gargled," she says.
Cynthia

Cynthia
Chicago
48 years old
Smoking for 30 years

For most of the past 30 years, Cynthia has been a smoker…even continuing to light up after watching her father die of lung cancer.

At one point, Cynthia actually quit smoking for four years. "What I learned in quitting for four years is I'm always going to be a smoker," she says. "I had that one cigarette after four years, and it was back as if it had never stopped before. I'm finding it very hard to stop now."
Danielle

Danielle
Round Lake Park, Illinois
28 years old
Smoking for 14 years

In a telling exercise, Danielle adds up how much her smoking addiction has cost her—it's $22,428 over 14 years. "Wow, that's $22,428 that I've spent on cigarettes—$22,428 that I've spent on killing myself slowly," she says.
Debbie

Debbie
Kentucky
54 years old
Smoking for 34 years

Debbie doesn't just want to quit smoking for herself—she wants to set a good example for her two daughters who also smoke. She says she hopes quitting will inspire them to do the same.
Gail

Gail
Hanover, Pennsylvania
31 years old
Smoking for 18 years

Even after both of her parents died from smoking-related diseases—and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 18—Gail says she's been unable kick her smoking addiction.

"With all three of my children, after I gave birth to them, when most mothers would be so filled with joy over this little life that's in the room with them, I was trying to figure out how I was going to sneak out of the hospital and get downstairs quickly to get a cigarette," she says.
Leon

Leon
Portland, Maine
44 years old
Smoking for 18 years

In his job as a licensed funeral director, Leon knows exactly what smoking can do to a person's body. "I see the autopsy of people. I've seen their lungs; I've seen how black they are, what it does to them," he says. "And I still smoke. That's how powerful it is."
Nicole

Nicole
New York
33 years old
Smoking for 10 years

Though she's smoked for a decade, Nicole's parents didn't know about her addiction until recently. She says she told them about her smoking before she appeared on The Oprah Show. "So they wouldn't be totally shocked," she says.
Wendie

Wendie
California
35 years old

Wendie says she sometimes smokes in her her car—and not alone. Her 5-year-old daughter Bailie is sitting in the back seat. Even though Wendie says she doesn't want anything bad to happen to Bailie, she can't put the pack down. "She's had pneumonia and she has allergies," she says. "But it's not enough, because the addiction is so powerful."