I smoked for over 15 years. Before I quit I was up to a pack and a half a day. I remember every winter I would get really sick. My fiancée was starting to have a huge problem with my smoking, too. She couldn't stand being around smokers any longer.

I finally decided to quit at 32 with the help of Nicorette® gum. At first, I actually counted out pieces of gum and looked forward to chewing them in place of smoking cigarettes. It was tempting to cheat sometimes, but I never slipped. My fiancée helped a lot. She would email me during the day and ask how I was doing. She was always there urging me on.

After I quit, my sense of smell increased right away. Also, my morning cough was mostly gone in a week. I knew I was in bad shape, but I had no idea how limited my lung capacity had become until I stopped smoking. That’s why I decided to jog a bit. I really enjoyed it, and now I run 5K and 10K races. What a difference a few months can make. I haven’t smoked since my quit date. Now I hope to run a marathon in the future. But first my fiancée and I are planning a wedding.

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