[Angela P. Cobb](/columnists/Angela++P.++Cobb)  
8/11/2008

Giving up cigarettes improved more than Moore's health.

Actress Julianne Moore feels that the decision to quit smoking improved more than just her health. It also gave her an emotional awakening, improving all other areas of her life, WENN reports.  
  
Moore quit smoking 15 years ago and she considers it one of the smartest things she ever did. "I began to see the most clearly," says *The Hours* star. "I was 31 or 32, and I quit smoking. I was so emotional."  
  
The actress feels that the decision to quit also helped her better examine other issues in her life, such as why she smoked to begin with. "I had been so unhappy, and I realized that I had just been . . . literally stuffing it back with those cigarettes in my mouth," Moore recalls.  
  
And the Oscar-nominated actress feels that an epiphany had really taken place. "I felt like I woke up suddenly," she admits.