I'm Lesley and I'm 42. I've been smoking since I was 14; I found some cigarettes in my sister's jacket and decided to try it. Unlike most stories, mine didn't have any peer pressure. I smoked in secret. Many years later, I found out those cigarettes were about four years old! For the first few years, I smoked very infrequently. I began smoking regularly the night my mom died in a car accident and I've been smoking regularly since.

When my grandparents found out I smoked my grandpa got quiet. He asked me if I liked being able to walk upstairs. He said that because he smoked for 40 years, he was unable to do that anymore and he didn't want that life for me. I promised him I would quit. He died in 2003 of Emphysema and a massive heart attack. I was still smoking.

I have been trying to quit off and on for 20 years but I have never lasted more than a day. I've tried pills, NRTs, acupuncture, and hypnosis. I was always quitting because of money or because of other people. What has helped me is choosing to quit for ME. I want to be healthy and free. I've always said that smoking is like having a best friend who is constantly trying to kill me, and it's true. I've changed the way I look at cigarettes and, in turn, it's changed the way I smoke. Since joining the Saskatchewan Quits Facebook support group a year ago, I've cut my smoking in half.

Wherever you are on your quit journey, Saskatchewan Quits can help!