"Smoking Makes You Ugly."

I was a smoker for 13 years. Occasionally, I'd take some heat for smoking. Someone, a "reformed non-smoker", would say something to me to highlight their success of quitting and my lack of doing so. I always hated that- but I did take it to heart.

I tried to quit several times. I went cold turkey. I tried the patches, the gum, you name it... Each time I failed.

In college, I had an English Professor who would always see me smoking before and after her class. She'd come up to me and say, "smoking makes you ugly." She said it jovially but she meant it. Every class day I'd hear this over and over. It meant something to me. It was serving as motivation for the day I was finally ready to quit. That day came for me on February 5, 1998.

Its because of her that I'm writing this blog. Even if I make you a little mad, I hope you'll take to heart what I have to say about smoking and the damage it does to you- and your business or career success.

Smoking does in fact make you ugly. What are the benefits? The detriments include the physical damage it does to you on both the inside and outside; the money you waste each day; the odor; the alienation of coworkers and others; and the lack of self-control (perceived by others).

There has never been more of an anti-smoking society than now. Smokers talk about it all the time. They are being discriminated against for their choice to smoke. They are being pushed out on the streets- no longer able to smoke in their offices and buildings. They aren't even able to smoke on some streets in some cities. Hospital workers and others have to be so many feet off property to smoke. The list of limitations to them increases every year. These limitations spiral into other negative actions and reactions. Here's one: how many times do you hear a non-smoker talk about how many breaks the smoker takes- and how long those breaks are if s/he has to go off grounds? Its only going to get worse.

With many attributes people associate negative feelings. Smoking is one of those attributes. If you smoke everyone knows it. You may think they don't, but they do. It smells. You can attempt to mask it but cigarettes have a very strong smell to them that permeates your clothing, skin and hair. I was recently disgusted, twice, when I was getting a service at a high-end salon and could smell cigarettes on my providers hands. I was paying a fair bit of money for a beauty service only to be inundated with the smell of nicotine. Gross. I have never gone back to that provider. The other situation was when I went into the bathroom at one salon and could tell that someone (a staff member) had been in there, either smoking or was a chronic smoker who just carried the smell with her where ever she went.

We, as a society, are aggressively becoming smoke free- and rather than fight the laws I'd encourage you to quit. It really is that simple. Quit. It will be the best thing you can do for yourself, your family and friends, your business or career and your environment.

My caution to you if you are a smoker who is pitching or providing a service to a non-smoker: Know that your smoking may be a turn-off to them. So much so, that you lose the business. Especially, if they are a "reformed non-smoker" - more than 45 million according to The American Lung Association.

As a coach, I help people quit smoking- but this blog isn't written to promote that. In fact, its not one of my favorite things to do. It gets ugly. I advocate a "tough love" approach to quitting. Smoking disgusts me- perhaps because I was weak to it for so many years. I have become one of those "reformed non-smokers". And, I like it. I can truly breathe better as a result of my decision.