My Daughter had a class in year 6 at school about health and it covered smoking. She came home very distressed and asked me to stop smoking so I wouldn’t die and it really hit home. I had tried before to quit but knew I had to try again.
Truthfully, no, I didn't believe I could achieve 4 weeks Smokefree, but I knew using the service would be my best bet.
I used nicotine patches for the first 2 weeks or so, and the mouth spray for the rest of the course. I have used Champix in the past and managed to stay quit a few months after the course of tablets stopped, but it does it for you really. I found that using the mouth spray I had to think about when I needed it, which put me in touch with the habit of smoking, when and where I smoked and why. It was an eye opener for me, and I found myself changing things around during the day, so it made it easier. I was aware how much I was using the mouth spray which told me how often I must have been smoking.
I found it extremely helpful.
If it hadn’t been for Lindsey calling every week I wouldn’t have done it. The same person ringing gave a personal touch and we built up a rapport. I didn’t want to let her down and I had my daughter beaming at me cos I wasn’t smoking. I had to dig deep. The daily text messages were fantastic and once I saw the money in my bank account still there at the end of the week, I started taking the kids away for a few days at a time, which I had not been able to afford when I was smoking.
I visited the Yorkshire Smokefree webpage but I just glanced at it.
My health has improved since I quit, I no longer have to use inhalers for my asthma which I can’t quite believe as I relied quite heavily on them. I can get a proper lung full of air which feels quite strange but am getting used to it. I also start the day without coughing. The biggest thing for me is my mind is sharper, as silly as that sounds. I don’t feel ‘foggy’ anymore and I have noticed that I am much warmer, I always used to be cold.
I have saved money. My girls and I have been away every week over the school holidays and we have had some very valuable and fun times together as a family.
I have also bought myself a piano and started playing again, something I haven’t done for a very long time.
The lockdown helped once I realised I wasn’t going to die from Covid. I contracted it early in the lockdown and was really poorly with it.
For me the telephone was fantastic, better than face to face purely from a convenience point of view. I have 3 kids off school, and it would have been really difficult to find the time to go into a face-to-face appointment every week.
On a closing note, I would just like to say I couldn’t have done this without the stop smoking service and that if I can quit any one can. It’s the best way. I can smell better, I can taste better, I have money for things other than for tobacco and as I am not smoking, I have cut down alcohol too, although not completely, come on I am not a saint! For me this has been a WIN WIN WIN!
