Kris originally came into the service to quit as he had medical issues that he needed to stop smoking for and to support recovery from his upcoming surgery. Jackie, his partner, came to Yorkshire smokefree Calderdale mainly to support him and to make it easier for him, as well as for her own health. They wanted to stop together.
They didn’t really think that they be able to quit for more than a few days. They came in to the service determined to give their best efforts, but knowing that it was really going to be tough. However, Jackie says she had found it so much easier than she expected and they both surprised themselves when they reached 1 whole week smoke free.
Jackie’s Mum passed away from emphysema 7 years after quitting smoking and, in her mind, Jackie had always linked stopping smoking and her Mum’s death. Deep down though, Jackie knew it was actually the years of smoking that had done the damage to her Mum’s health and was using this as an excuse to continue smoking.
Kris and Jackie received telephone support to help them achieve their goal and were offered either a single or joint appointments and chose the latter. They used different forms of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and their stop smoking advisor, Lindsey, spoke to them individually, although they chose to use the telephone’s speaker option so turned it into a mini group discussion, which helped them both.
The NRT reduced the cravings for sure, but it was also their state of mind that allowed them to believe they could stop smoking. Along with weekly support from Lindsey, Kris and Jackie started to believe in themselves and take charge, rather than allowing their nicotine addiction rule them.
It was when Jackie and Kris received their 4-week quit certificates and asked us to share them on our social media sites that family and friends started to send them messages of congratulations, telling them how proud of them they were for stopping smoking. This really spurred them on to complete the full 12 weeks with Yorkshire Smokefree.
Both of Kris and Jackie found the Yorkshire Smokefree website helpful and the hints, tips and others success stories inspired them to carry on too.
Once Kris realised he wasn’t craving tobacco, and it was no longer ruling his daily routines, he became disgusted that he had let it dominate his life. Jackie became adamant that no tobacco company was ever going to get another penny out of her now she had seen how it feels to be quit and no longer struggle financially as much as they had been.
The longer they remained quit, the more Kris and Jackie realised they it wasn’t age causing the health issues such as the shortness of breath, low energy levels and loss of smell and taste as these have all vastly improved since they have stopped using tobacco.
Jackie finds so many things much easier since she quit. She no longer gets out of breath going upstairs or when out walking, she can walk further, she doesn’t cough all the time, she has more energy, doesn’t need an afternoon nap anymore and her home has never been as clean. Kris’s wounds from his surgery are healing nicely and he’s in much less pain, his circulation has improved to the point he can now walk a little and not totally rely on his mobility scooter.
It is now 3 months since Jackie and Kris quit and in that time they have been experiencing smells such as the fresh aroma of laundry that were masked by cigarette smoke and they have also been discovering different foods, ones they thought they liked but now don’t and foods they thought they didn’t like but now do all because everything tastes fresh without the veil of stale tobacco. They no longer use any NRT products and are living their lives completely nicotine free.
During the telephone calls they received as part of their support with Yorkshire Smokefree, Jackie and Kris realised that smoking causes a lot more damage than just the pictures on the side of cigarette packets. It creeps up and affects normal everyday activities. As well as the benefits already mentioned, cooking is more rewarding as everything tastes so much nicer and even just breathing deeply without a coughing fit is wonderful.
Lindsey, their Yorkshire Smokefree advisor asked them both if they could go back and tell their younger selves what they know now about smoking what would they say.
Kris said he would like to show his younger self a photograph of him and his mobility scooter and simply say don’t start smoking as you will inevitably need one of these to get around.
Jackie said she would say don’t listen to your friends, don’t try it as you will never have any spare money if you do.
Jackie also said that things have been awesome since quitting and she would recommend the service to anyone who wants help to quit, even if they think they can’t.
