The very first pack of cigarettes I ever bought was a pack of camels...

The very first pack of cigarettes I ever bought was a pack of Camels. I put a quarter in the machine at a restaurant on Janeway in Moore, Oklahoma, pulled the handle and the package came out with three pennies taped to the side of it. I think I was in the third grade and I bought them for my stepfather so I could buy 3 pieces of Dubble Bubble gum.

I had shortness of breath. I couldn’t handle my horses anymore. I couldn’t do anything that I used to do without gasping for air. Most of my friends at that particular time had quit, but my husband still smokes 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day.

I feel better today at the age of 69, and as a matter of fact, I look better than I did at the age of 50 when I was smoking. Three years ago I went down to Mexico City to visit my son, and we walked to Guatemala and climbed 6 pyramids. I could have never done that if I had been smoking or had not quit when I did. I wished I had quit a lot sooner, or had never started, which would have been even better. You can’t turn back time, but you can change your future. The Helpline works. They helped me, and I live in a house of smokers. I quit with their help after 30 years when I smoked 3 packs a day. I haven’t had cigarette in 12 years.