Noel S.’s Story
Noel, age 42, grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He started smoking menthol cigarettes at the age of 13. Most of his friends smoked, and Noel thought it was the “cool” thing to do.
For the next 20 years, Noel smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. He smoked six or seven cigarettes every morning just between waking up and leaving for work. “I’d wake up, smoke. Get in the shower, smoke. Get dressed, smoke. Have a cup of coffee, smoke.”
Noel’s addiction to cigarettes affected his life in multiple ways. He lost a job as a ride-share driver because passengers continually complained that his car smelled like an ashtray. He missed family vacations and a funeral because he refused to travel by airplane since he couldn’t smoke during a flight.
At age 36, Noel suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for a week. He realized that if he continued to smoke, he would die. He couldn’t bear the thought that he might not be there for his family. This motivated Noel to quit smoking and he has been smokefree since.
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Noel S.’s Biography
Noel, age 42, started smoking menthol cigarettes at age 13. Most of his friends growing up in Brooklyn, New York, smoked and Noel thought it was the “cool” thing to do. Though Noel described liking the menthol flavor, he now understands that menthol cigarettes are just as dangerous as other cigarettes. “All that time I was killing myself and didn’t realize it,” he said.
During his teenage years, Noel could easily buy cigarettes in convenience stores or from people on the streets selling 25-cent “loosies,” the slang term for single cigarettes. Noel smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for more than 20 years. He smoked six or seven cigarettes every morning just between waking up and leaving for work. “I’d wake up, smoke. Get in the shower, smoke. Get dressed, smoke. Have a cup of coffee, smoke.”
Noel’s addiction to cigarettes affected his life in many ways. He rarely slept through the night because he woke up every few hours to smoke. If he ran out of cigarettes in the middle of the night, Noel would walk to a 24-hour convenience store to buy more and smoke on the walk home. He lost a job as a ride-share driver because passengers continually complained that his car smelled like an ashtray. For more than 11 years he refused to travel on an airplane because he couldn’t tolerate the idea of not being able to smoke on a flight. His biggest regret was missing the funeral of an uncle who passed away in Puerto Rico. “He was like a father to me and yet I couldn’t go to his funeral because I couldn’t get on an airplane,” Noel said.
At the age of 36, Noel suffered a heart attack. “It felt like someone stuck a knife in my chest and then there was an elephant sitting on the knife,” he recalled. Hospitalized for a week, Noel had time to think about his future. He realized he had to make healthier choices if he wanted to be around to watch his younger family members grow up. He was finally able to quit smoking, change his diet, and exercise regularly.
Noel is sharing his story to help others. “I want to walk down the street and have somebody say to me, ‘I quit smoking because of you,’” he said. “That’s my goal.”
