Ellie's Videos

Ellie was in her mid-30’s when she had her first asthma attack — triggered by exposure to secondhand smoke. She loved her job as a bartender, but began to dread going to work. In this video from CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers^® campaign she says, “I could feel my lungs getting tighter. I knew I couldn’t be around the smoke or I was going to die, or something bad was going to happen to me.” Eventually Ellie quit her job for the sake of her health, but feels everyone deserves to have a safe and healthy work environment.

Ellie never smoked, but she developed asthma from secondhand smoke exposure. She worked in bars that served the LGBT communities and noticed lots of smokers. Ellie loved the work but quit to save her health. In this video, she talks about smoking and how people define their personal identity.