By age 33, Kristy had already been a heavy smoker for 20 years. She was determined to quit smoking to protect her family and get rid of her deep smoker’s cough. Kristy decided to try electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).

Although she cut back on regular cigarettes, Kristy did not quit smoking regular cigarettes completely, which is the best way to protect your health. “I tried e-cigarettes, but I just ended up using both the electronic kind and my regular brand,” she said. Eventually, Kristy quit e-cigarettes and went back to just smoking cigarettes. A few months later, Kristy’s right lung collapsed. She spent 2 weeks in the hospital on pain medicine while doctors inserted chest tubes and did surgery to repair her collapsed lung. Kristy’s doctors also found early COPD, a lung disease that makes it harder and harder to breathe. COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. That was when Kristy stopped smoking cigarettes completely.

Today, Kristy is thankful that she quit smoking. “I can actually breathe,” she said. “I can play with my kids. When I smoked, I had no energy. It just affected my whole life!” Kristy hopes that sharing her story will help other people quit smoking as soon as possible.