Hollywood A - listers quit smoking

We are six in the family and three are smokers (though none of my parents smokes). We pleaded so many times for my smoking siblings to stop, but it seems they would rather die with a cigarette on one hand than survive the ordeal of ending their nicotine addiction. Until a serious scare a few months ago, with my sister ending up in the emergency room, minutes away from a heart attack. It was only then that she became serious in quitting, which she did cold turkey.

Hollywood may have glamorized smoking, but more and more celebrities are now confessing their nicotine addiction and sharing how they kicked the habit.

Gisele Bundchen

Top-paid Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen gave up smoking as a New Year’s resolution way back in 2007. She gained 15 pounds shortly after, but she happily told Britain’s GQ that “food tastes better than when it tasted like (an) ashtray.”

“When I quit smoking, I gained 15 pounds,” she also told People magazine. “So? I prefer myself this way. Nothing is worth your health.”

Jennifer Aniston

It was also in 2007 that Just Go With It and Horrible Bosses star Jennifer Aniston, a chain smoker for years, reportedly did an extreme detox to cleanse her system.  She gave up caffeine and cigarettes.

She replaced the void with lots of exercise, especially yoga, introduced to Jen by friend and instructor Mandy Ingber. In the introduction to Ingber’s yoga video Yogalosophy, she said, “She brought yoga into my life, and it completely changed my life. It’s one of the most fun workouts I’ve ever had.”

Matt Damon

The star of Invictus and the Jason Bourne trilogy used to smoke cigarettes with best friend Ben Affleck until his life- changing session with an LA hypnotist.  After three sessions, Matt said he never looked for a stick of cigarette. “He taught me that the reason you finally quit is because you look at what cigarettes do to you. Once you realize the consequences, it’s no longer an option for you to smoke. I think that applies to any addiction,” he told Parade magazine.

Charlize Theron

Oscar-winning actress and South African Charlize Theron was reported to smoke up to three packs of cigarettes a day to cope with stress, according to the British newspaper The Mirror. Though she attempted several times to quit, she only did so successfully with hypnotherapy and a healthier lifestyle that includes doing yoga and Pilates.

Catherine Zeta-Jones

This equally famous wife of actor Michael Douglas, award-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, began smoking as a teenager.  As a mother, she decided to quit, concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke on her children. “I have to stop because they’re at the age when they are going to start asking questions,” she told Britain’s Daily Mirror.

Brad Pitt

Back in 1994, tabloids reported that Brad Pitt quit smoking for a muscular frame for the epic Troy.  That was not for the long term as he resumed after shooting packed up.  Only gorgeous partner, Angelina Jolie, encouraged Brad to kick the habit for good. The father of six children testified to W magazine that becoming a father inspired him to quit smoking cigarettes:

“In the late ’90s, I was something of a slacker, spending too much time smoking things I shouldn’t be,” Pitt recalled. “I was asking, ‘What’s it about?’ It couldn’t just be wanting a successful movie or something. Then I got more engaged, started studying more, and [my] interests blossomed.”

“I’m scared to death of death,” he said, and he also acknowledged that becoming a father inspired him to give up a deadly 20-year habit. “I quit smoking,” he said when asked how family life has changed him. “That was the only thing that got me to quit. That was it. Done.”

Drew Barrymore

Accomplished movie producer and actress, Drew Barrymore, was notorious for her history of drug and alcohol abuse. She was reported to have started smoking at the tender age of 10, describing herself as a “smokeaholic.” Like other celebrities, she turned to hypnosis to successfully end the addiction to nicotine. Her decision to quit was prompted by the realization of the adverse effects of smoking on her mind and overall health.

Ewan Mcgregor

Angels & Demons star Ewan McGregor feared an early death as he is the father of two lovely kids. That fear prompted him to give up drinking alcohol and smoking. He admitted to Men’s Health that the thought of explaining to his kids that dad was dying because he abused his body made him give up his vices for good.

“I wasn’t someone who could smoke or drink in moderation, and I recognized that those things would kill me. I started visualizing the doctor telling me that I had cancer from smoking or that I was extremely ill because of how much I’d been drinking. What kind of regret would I have if I had to tell my children or my wife that I was dying because of something I could have done something about? I didn’t want to be that kind of man,” he told the magazine.

He added that the desire to quit outweighs whatever method you choose. “What matters most with any regimen, whether it’s to lose weight or stop drinking or smoking, is your willingness to seek help and your desire to say ‘no more.’ The voice in your head that says ‘I choose not to’ is what ultimately makes the difference between not changing and making changes that last,” he concluded.

Make the right choice. Quit before it’s too late. Better yet, never start at all.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.