Adele’s spectacular voice has been heard around the world, with her new album topping charts in many countries. But just a few years ago, the singer’s voice, and life, were in jeopardy from her pack-a-day smoking habit.
The 27-year-old recently revealed that she was smoking up to 25 cigarettes a day before she had to stop performing in 2011 to undergo surgery on her vocal cords. “If I’d carried on smoking I’d probably have died from a smoking-related illness and I think that’s really bad,” she told The Mirror. “If I was dying from lung cancer I would have potentially given it to myself and that wouldn’t be something I’d be proud of.”
The Grammy winner recently told Rolling Stone that her 3-year-old son, Angelo, was a major influence on her putting down the cigarettes. “I absolutely loved [smoking], but it’s not that fucking cool when I’m dying from a smoking-related illness and my kid is, like, devastated,” she said.
In this 2011 video for People, the singer talked frankly about her struggles to quit smoking, which she “loved. It was my thing!” But she says even after three weeks smoke-free, she noticed a difference in her voice. Years later, it seems to have paid off in a big way. Go, Adele!