She hid her smoking for years. Her kids helped her stop.
Angel used to sneak around to smoke until one call, and a little help from home, changed everything.
“I wasn’t being myself. But I couldn’t quit on my own, either.”
Angel grew up with cigarettes all around her — cousins, friends, people she looked up to. At 15, smoking felt like a rite of passage. “I was this young little lady thinking I was going to rule the world,” she joked. “And smoking just felt like part of that.” But over time, it stopped being fun. “I was hiding it. Lying about it. I was a closet smoker,” Angel said. “It gave me more stress, not less. I didn’t like how it made me feel — but I couldn’t just quit on my own.”
That’s when she called the Colorado QuitLine. “After I got off the phone, I was like, ‘Huh. That’s it?’ It was actually pretty easy,” she said. Her coach was also a former smoker who understood exactly what Angel was feeling. “There was no judgment. It was a real conversation with someone who got it.”
Her kids became her biggest cheerleaders. “They were always around, asking questions, making sure I had my patches or gum,” Angel said. “They really helped me stay on track.”
Six years later, Angel is smoke-free and keeping up with her energetic toddler granddaughter. “It just makes me feel good,” she said. “It’s a huge accomplishment.” Her advice to others? “Just start somewhere. Call the QuitLine. Reach out to your coach. It’s all there. And it gets easier — trust me.”
