Kevin Cook

DAVID IS ONE YEAR SMOKEFREE

I was smoking 20-30 a day for 40 years. I decided to quit for several reasons, the cost, my health and one being a smoking related death of a close friend. I also had the niggling desire to stop smoking for some time.

Quitting was actually not as hard as I thought or was led to believe that it would be. I really made up my mind that I wanted to stop and after some initial discomfort I soon felt better for stopping. This helped as did the extra money I now had which I spent on things that I wanted, but had not been able to afford whilst smoking.

I attend Smokefree Liverpool at Garston library where I find chatting to other people and the advisor Sarah helps. I haven’t used any aids such as patches, chewing gum etc. as wanting to stop was the most important motivation for me.

My main benefits I’ve felt from stopping smoking are…

• Extra money, smoking is now very expensive
• If going out, I do not have to worry about where and how I can have a smoke.
• My general overall health has improved – my chest feels clear and my breathing is improving
• A feeling of satisfaction in knowing that I can overcome my addiction.

If you want to stop smoking, decide when you want to stop and then prepare yourself mentally. Tell yourself you can overcome your habit and then do as I did – just stop! At first you may not succeed, but stopping for any length of time will do you no harm. You may find that you have more willpower than you think and, like me, one day of stopping leads to a year of stopping! 😊

If David can Kick the Ciggies, so can you!
Call our team of advisors on 0800 061 4212 or text ‘QUIT’ to 66777 to access FREE tips and tactics to beat the ciggies.