List of the Superstars Who Left Smoking and How They Did It

Even now, a lot of people in the United States still smoke. You probably know someone who smokes, even if you don't. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) also says that smoking can cause several health problems, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, tuberculosis, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary (Disease)). Even knowing how dangerous it is, it can be hard to stop. When they try to stop smoking, famous people have the same problems as everyone else. These famous people not only found ways to quit smoking, but they haven't touched a cigarette in years (and sometimes decades). Look more closely at what finally got them to stop, and think about trying some of the things they did. Below is the list of superstars who left smoking.

Keith Richards

The Rolling Stones guitarist, who had been with the band for many years, said in February 2020 that he had finally quit smoking at the end of 2019. Richards told Jim Kerr of Q104.3 New York, "I haven't smoked since October." "Done that, been there." Even though he has a long history of using drugs and alcohol, Richards says the only things that make him weak are rock and roll and a glass of pinot grigio. But kicking butts wasn't easy at all. In 2019, Richards agreed with the Lou Reed (late) that "nicotine was difficult to leave than heroin." But then he said Mojo that he overcame his addiction by "cutting back a lot every day."

Prince Harry

The Daily Mail says that the Duke of Sussex started smoking as a teenager and kept doing it for years, even after places like Buckingham Palace became smoke-free in 2016. People magazine says that Harry stopped smoking before marrying Meghan Markle, who likes yoga and living a healthy lifestyle. People say that this had a "beautiful effect" on her husband. People heard that Harry worked with Gabriela Peacock, a royal nutritionist, to improve his diet, lose weight, and stop smoking.

Barack Obama

Former President Barack Obama started smoking when he was a teenager, and it was hard for him to quit during his 2008 campaign and the first few years of his presidency. But by 2011, when he went to the White House for his second regular physical exam, doctors saw that he no longer smoked. What was one thing that helped him quit smoking? In 2013, NBC News said that he joked, "I'm scared of my wife." Michelle Obama was known for getting people to make healthier choices while she was the first lady. When he wanted a cigarette, the president also chewed nicotine gum.

Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd, known for his roles in Friends and movies like Avengers: Endgame, Clueless, and This Is 40, used hypnotherapy to stop smoking. The famous person has said nice things about the Kerry Gaynor way, a hypnotherapy based on a program to help people stop smoking. It was made in Los Angeles by a hypnotherapist named Kerry Gaynor. He's not the only famous person this method has helped quit smoking. Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Aaron Eckhart, and many others have all said that it helped them.

Gisele Bündchen

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen told People magazine that when she began modeling, she smoked a cigarette pack daily, drank a bottle of wine every night, and needed multiple cups of coffee to keep going. But in 2003, Bündchen says she decided to "choose life" and start living in a way that was better for her health. She started doing yoga, meditating, and running, which helped her fight the urge to smoke. An insider said in October 2018 that she and her husband Tom Brady also only eat plant-based foods as part of their efforts to live healthy lives.

Jon Stewart

The former host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central started smoking when he was 15, and he didn't stop until December 28, 2000. In June 2018, Stewart talked on Primetime Glick about why he had smoked for so long. He said, "I smoked to fill a hole in my heart." "I did it because it made me feel better." Entertainment Weekly wrote in August 2015 that Stewart saved a gumball machine close to his desk and said on 60 Minutes in 2001 that he chews gum as a "cigarette substitute."

Christy Turlington

The supermodel told The Cut in February 2017 that she began smoking as a teenager. She said that at the time, she "didn't think of smoking as a habit." But by age 18, Turlington knew that smoking was bad for her health. She said, "It's dumb to be 18 and get out of breath going upstairs." Turlington wrote in O Magazine that it took her a few tries, but she was finally able to stop smoking when she "got sick of herself for not keeping her promise. " She says this is "the biggest thing she has ever done."

Kelly Ripa

The actress who used to be on soap operas and now co-hosts Live! with Kelly and Ryan talked about her secret habit on the Late Show with David Letterman. She said, "I smoked in secret." "I only did it with friends or in my dressing room sometimes." Ripa stopped smoking when she had children, but she told Letterman that she started smoking again while filming the ABC sitcom Hope and Faith. Ripa wanted to be around to see her children grow up, so she hired a trainer and started working out "religiously." She also told him that the antidepressant Wellbutrin, which she took for three weeks, helped her quit smoking.

Anthony Hopkins

Even after the actor who won an Oscar for his role in Silence of the Lambs stopped smoking for good, he would sometimes still want a cigarette or cigar. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, by the late anti-smoking activist Allen Carr, was suggested to Hopkins by his friends as a way to quit smoking for good. The book helped him stop smoking "right away." Hopkins said that Carr's method, based on the idea that people can't quit because of a cycle of fear, is "not only easy but unbelievably fun."