15 Celebs Who Successfully Gave Up Smoking

10/19/2024 10:16 AM

"You don't want to die early, needlessly, over cigarettes."

For years, it's been known how detrimental it is to smoke cigarettes. It can be destructive to our bodies, causing cancer and other harmful diseases. That's why over the past decade, many celebrities have made the choice to ditch the habit, no matter how tough it is to kick their nicotine addiction. While it may be a difficult process to finally quit smoking cigarettes, celebs like Adele and Matt Damon say it was one of the best choices they ever made.

Read on to find out which celebs said goodbye to cigarettes…

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1. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has had a complicated relationship with smoking throughout her life, attempting to quit on several occasions. In early 2020, she shared that after smoking 40 cigarettes a day, she decided to quit cold turkey. While it was "brutal," she said she was able to finally kick the habit. Unfortunately, she picked it up again while later filming House of Gucci. When she wrapped, she decided to quit once again, inspired by her character Patrizia.

"When I got on that plane back from Italy, I threw out my cigarettes, I threw out the booze. I landed in LA and cleaned my life up because I couldn't live that way any more. It was killing me because it was killing her," she told the Irish Examiner.

2. Prince Harry

Prince Harry was often spotted smoking as a young adult but when he met his wife Meghan Markle, he reportedly put it all behind him. In the time leading up to their wedding, they both worked to become their healthiest selves, which included quitting smoking for Harry.

"Meghan is a beautiful influence on Harry. They both worked hard to be the healthiest they could be before they got married," a source told People at the time. "Harry has lost weight, started a healthier diet and even gave up smoking cigarettes. They both felt amazing leading up to the wedding. And he couldn't have done it without her support."

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3. Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher was a heavy smoker, but ended up quitting with the help of a book called The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. Ashton explained that in the book, the author encouraged people to smoke while reading -- but by the end, you simply don't have any desire to light up anymore.

"No. Like, this guy's brilliant," Ashton shared with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. "And you get to the last page and he's like, 'Alright, light your last one,' and you're like, 'I don't know if I want--'

'-- like, by the time you get to the end you're like, 'I don't know if I want to light it, but, OK, if you say so, Allen.' And then you're like -- savor that last puff, you know. He's like, 'Take the last puff now.'...That was it, and you put it out and then you're just done. And I haven't smoked since, like, for like a year and a half."

4. Adele

After welcoming her son Angelo, Adele decided to give up her smoking habit. She explained that while she loved having cigarettes, her health was more important so that she could always be there to take care of her child.

"I absolutely loved it, but it's not that f--king cool when I'm dying from a smoking-related illness and my kid is, like, devastated," she explained to Rolling Stone.

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5. Natasha Lyonne

In 2023, Natasha Lyonne decided that after years of smoking she was finally going to quit. While she said the withdrawals were "intense," she knew the health benefits would be worth the trouble in the long run.

"I've been putting it off for so long. I'm naturally wired for self-destructive crutches. I f--king love a vice," she told Variety. "It might be a symptom of being in a pretty decent place. In a way, I want to meet that artistically and emotionally. I want to return the favor and say, 'OK, maybe I'll sign up for life for a little bit longer.'"

6. Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron says she no longer smokes but has kept the secret to her success on the down low in fear of jinxing herself. Regardless, she's happy to have finally let go of the dangerous habit.

"I was highly addicted. I thought, I don't smoke like normal people. I smoke to die," she explained to Vogue.

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7. Courteney Cox

When Courteney Cox decided to quit smoking, she turned to famed hypnotist Yefim Shubentsov. She says that after being hypnotized by him, she was surprised that something so simple had changed her mind about smoking.

"I used to smoke cigarettes. I loved smoking! I quit when I was thirty-four, and can't believe how hard that was," she shared with New You. "I went to this guy in Boston, Yefim Shubentsov. He's known as the 'Mad Russian,' and he hypnotized me. I was like, 'Really, that was it? Now I don't want to smoke?' But there's something about the power of our minds."

8. Matt Damon

Matt Damon also sought the help of a hypnotist when he wanted to quit smoking. While he didn't specify which person he saw, he admitted that he wished he had done the whole thing sooner.

"I went to that hypnotist and it worked. I swear to God it worked. It was the greatest decision I ever made in my life," he shared in an interview with Jay Leno.

9. Halsey

In 2019, Halsey decided to quit smoking for good. On social media, she shared that she had given up nicotine after a decade of being a smoker. While it may have been difficult, she says it was completely worth it.

"I successfully quit nicotine a few weeks ago after smoking for TEN years. I gained a lot of weight and probably lost some friends forever bc I was being a NUT (lol) but I'm so happy I did it and I feel v goooood. just wanted to share," Halsey tweeted.

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10. Kelly Ripa

Kelly Ripa has quit smoking on a few occasions. She decided to give up the habit before she started having children but later in life she hit a bump in the road and picked it back up. While it was tough to kick the addiction, Kelly says she was finally successfully able to do so.

"Quitting smoking I really had to think about," she told People. "I was like: 'Smoking leads to cancer and it will kill you.' It was a thing I had to tell myself. And I was like, 'It gives you wrinkles.' And that was the thing that was really terrifying. But you don't want to die early, needlessly, over cigarettes."

11. Gisele Bündchen

When Gisele Bündchen was a young model, she says she didn't treat her body how she should have. Looking back, she says she smoked, drank alcohol and ate fast food. It came to a point where she realized her body was suffering because of her choices and she needed to stop.

"I was drinking a lot of red wine, smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes a day, and eating cheeseburgers all day. I was treating my body, which is my temple and my best friend, as my worst enemy," she shared with Harper's Bazaar.

12. Brad Pitt

Over the past few years, Brad Pitt says he's made some major lifestyle changes. After being a smoker for a long time, he decided he needed to cut back. Then, during the pandemic, he realized he had to completely cut them out -- and did so successfully with the help of tools like nicotine mints.

"I don't have that ability to do just one or two a day," he shared with GQ. "It's not in my makeup. I'm all in. And I'm going to drive into the ground. I've lost my privileges."

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13. Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm quit smoking when he was still in his early 20s -- despite what it may look like if you see his on-screen characters. He explained that on Mad Men, none of the cigarettes actually had nicotine and honestly tasted pretty gross.

"It's glamorous on film, but it's not glamorous waking up and smelling like an ashtray," he told People. "There's no nicotine in what we're smoking. It's herbal. The taste is a cross between lawn clippings, mint and pot."

14. Debra Messing

Debra Messing says that for a long time, she didn't think she was affected by her smoking habit. She was happy to continue lighting up throughout her 30s -- but when it suddenly began to affect her work, she knew she had to stop.

"Even though I knew all about the dangers of smoking, I didn't really believe anything would happen to me, certainly not while in my 30s," she said in an American Cancer Society press release. "Reality hit when I got a bad case of bronchitis and couldn't go to the studio for two weeks."

15. Rumer Willis

Rumer Willis began smoking when she was just a teenager and by the time she was 25, she had realized that the habit was negatively affecting her. She quit for three years but eventually picked it back up. After smoking on and off, she finally decided to quit for good in 2020. She says what's worked best for her is taking things just minute by minute.

"I think it's important to kind of take a pause in that moment and go, all right, 'Why am I really wanting a cigarette? What am I trying to avoid? What am I trying to numb my feelings from, what's coming up that I want to escape?'" she told SheKnows. "Say to yourself, 'I'm going to take five minutes and if I still want it, I can reconsider then.' And then after that five minutes, I'll just keep trying five more minutes, five minutes at a time."