Take a Deep Breath

At age 36, Cassandra says she has already been smoking for 15 years—and she's been married to a nonsmoker for seven. "It's turned our life inside out," 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.

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.