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Selena Gomez is getting real about the habit she says left a lasting mark on her voice.
In a selfie video shared to her Instagram Stories on Sunday (October 18), the 34-year-old singer and actress opened up about vaping and why she finally quit. “I’m not gonna be able to change my voice. I vaped nicotine a lot,” she said, ABC News reported.
She didn’t sugarcoat how tough it was to stop. “Nicotine is so hard to quit and I think I just wanted to say, if you’re going through it,” Gomez continued, “if you’re even trying to vape, it’s just not worth it. It’s so stupid and it’s changed my voice.”
The good news? She’s done with it. “I am really excited because I stopped and I just hope we can keep it up,” she said. “It’s really hard but I know if you are going through something, you can get through it too. It sucks.”
Scientists haven’t proven exactly how vaping affects the voice, though users have reported dryness, coughing, and irritation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says no tobacco products are safe, including e-cigarettes, and notes that most vapes contain nicotine.
Gomez has been open about her health for years. She was diagnosed with lupus and, back in 2017, revealed she’d received a kidney transplant from her friend, actress Francia Raisa. At the time, she called the procedure “what I needed to do for my overall health.”