For Suzanne, the decision to stop smoking came down to two important factors – her health and the rising cost of cigarettes.
"The price of cigarettes had gone up to more than £15 a packet, so that was one of the main reasons I wanted to quit," she explained. "The other reason was that I was starting to get out of breath when I was walking. I wanted to deal with it before it became something more serious, like COPD."
Unlike many people who access Yorkshire Smokefree, Suzanne had never tried to stop smoking before. Although she wasn't completely convinced she would succeed, she felt it was the right time to give it a go.
"I wasn't really sure if I'd be successful. I still enjoyed smoking at times, so I wasn't fully committed at first. But the negatives of smoking kept playing on my mind, so I decided to try – and so far, I've been successful."
After discussing her options with her stop smoking advisor in Wakefield, Suzanne chose to use varenicline rather than nicotine patches. Although she had been told about the possible side effects, she was pleased to find she didn't experience any.
"The tablets took the thoughts of smoking out of my head. They made it much easier than I expected."
Suzanne was quick to point out that medication alone wasn't enough, telling her advisor, "You still need determination because it's the habit of smoking that you have to overcome."
One of her biggest triggers was smoking in the car, so she found a simple way to break the routine.
"I used to enjoy having a cigarette while driving, so I started carrying mints instead. Whenever I felt like smoking, I'd have a mint until the craving passed."
Rather than focusing on the long term, Suzanne celebrated every milestone along the way.
"I was determined to take the small wins – one week without a cigarette, then two weeks, and so on."
Although she still occasionally thinks about smoking, those thoughts don't last long.
"I still have moments where I think, 'I could have a cigarette.' But then I think about how far I've come and I don't want to have to start all over again."
Since quitting, Suzanne has noticed a real improvement in her health. Walking has become much easier, and she no longer gets out of breath like she used to.
"I enjoy walking again. If I can walk somewhere now, I will."
She has also rediscovered her enjoyment of exercise, something that had become much harder while she was smoking.
Looking back on her journey, Suzanne says the support from Yorkshire Smokefree was invaluable.
"The appointments were easy to access and everyone was so encouraging. They talked me through every step of the process."
Her advice to anyone thinking about quitting is to remember that smoking isn't really solving the problems you think it is.
"I think you associate having a cigarette with helping you through a stressful moment and making the situation better. But the stressful moment passes, and you realise the cigarette wasn't helping the stress at all."
Suzanne's story shows that with the right support, effective stop smoking medication, and a determination to celebrate every small success, becoming smokefree is absolutely achievable.
