Jennifer Aniston has a wholesome, all-American image that fans love. She’s widely recognized as a beautiful, talented actress, film producer, and businesswoman, but could the star also have this bad habit?
Jennifer Aniston no longer smokes. In 2012, she quit smoking after almost twenty years, giving up both her nicotine and caffeine addictions. Aniston said that she was able to kick the habits with the help of practicing yoga.
Read on to find out more about how Aniston quit smoking, her experiences with other substances, and why it’s so hard to kick a nicotine addiction in the first place.
The Road to Quitting
Aniston, like many smokers, had a difficult time trying to quit the habit, but finally succeeded in 2012, after nearly twenty years of smoking. To help her quit, she took up practicing yoga daily to both relax and stay in shape.
Some people commented on the irony of her situation, having filmed a related Friends storyline years earlier. Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, needed to quit smoking, and the gang all stepped in to help.
It even inspired this Twitter post, remarking on how Aniston’s character Rachel was encouraging Chandler to quit, fighting Chandler’s fake addiction while Aniston struggled with her own.
What were some of Aniston’s challenges in trying to quit? Other than fighting the strong nicotine withdrawals, smoking cigarettes suppresses appetite and is partially how Aniston stayed slim without regular exercise.
Worrying about her public image and fearing weight gain may have played a part in why quitting was such a challenge, on top of withdrawals.
After finally quitting in 2012, she did experience some weight gain, but yoga helps her to stay away from the habit as well as keep her figure.
In an interview with GQ, she said, “Well, I recently quit smoking, and you do put on some extra pounds. It makes a difference, especially if you’re not 20.”
It’s especially hard to quit when some were even romanticizing her smoking addiction in Twitter posts like this one.
Aniston overcame smoking after 20 years, which was a difficult undertaking. But what about other habits?
Other Substances
While Aniston no longer smokes cigarettes, she has been known to smoke pot. Apparently, she started when she was with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, who is notorious for the habit.
“I enjoy it once in a while,” Aniston said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2001. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Everything in moderation… I wouldn’t call myself a pothead.”
That’s not the only time Aniston was interviewed on the subject. In this Twitter post by Civilized, Aniston is quoted as saying, “I enjoy smoking cannabis and see no harm in it.”
So while Aniston worked hard to overcome her nicotine and caffeine addictions, her pot usage seems more recreational, especially as many states legalize marijuana.
Nicotine Addictions
What are some tried and true ways that people have used to kick their addiction, and why is it so hard to quit smoking? Aniston used yoga, but how did it work for her?
Many people rely on smoking cigarettes to relax and use them as a stress reliever. Yoga may have helped Aniston quit because it causes people to breathe deeply like they do when they’re smoking.
Deep breathing is where the relaxation from smoking comes from, so things like yoga or meditation can help you to breathe deeply without the use of cigarettes.
Other methods include distracting oneself, hypnotism, nicotine replacement like patches or gum, some medications, and more.
The main thing that makes it so hard to quit smoking is the withdrawal symptoms and potent urges to smoke.
The methods described above are to help weaken the urge to smoke and soften the symptoms of withdrawal.
For more information on why it’s so hard to stop smoking, watch the YouTube video by Mayo Clinic below.