I wish I had thought about how I would look in 20 years when I was your age. I am 47 and have smoked for 30 years. I find that as I get older, the little things about my looks really freak me out - there is enough that mother nature does (gray hair, sagging skin, age spots) without adding to the harm of smoking. The thing that really bugs me now are the wrinkles around my mouth from sucking on cigarettes for so many years - and I have tried every product on the market to try to make them less noticable. And, I'm starting to sound like Marge Simpson's sister. Even if I am successful with quitting, those scars (and wrinkles ARE scars) will always be there to remind me of this horrid habit. In a way vanity has been driving me, both negaively and positively- because I saw so many people gain a significant amount of weight while trying to quit, I used it as an excuse not to - I keep myself in good shape and think I look pretty good for my age. Now I'm hating more and more the way smoking is making me look...(vanity again) - so I'm trying to choose the lesser of two evils. I can always lose the weight, but the wrinkles and lung damage, well those won't go away so easily. Besides, it's hard to look hot with an oxygen tube hanging from your face. So Angela, we can do this and if you can do this now, before the real damage is done, you'll be able to keep that beautiful face for the rest of your long life.
