Sarah is one of 21 women who have successfully quit using the Swap to Stop vape scheme, and already has 2 children aged 13 and 19 years old. Sarah found our services through her GP surgery after smoking between 15 – 20 cigarettes per day.

With the help of our Health Improvement Practitioner Lisa, Sarah was able to find the support she needed and found the weekly phone calls from Lisa motivating. Sarah also informs us that the support and praise from her children too was invaluable.

THE KICK-START SHE NEEDED

Her children were always very keen for their mum to give up smoking; they hated the smell and wanted their mum to be healthy. Sarah mentions that she kept putting it off until she found out she was pregnant “I didn’t want to put my baby’s health at risk”.

OUR SWAP TO STOP IN PREGNANCY PROGRAMME

With the help of our NHS practitioner, Sarah received 12 weeks supply of vapes and vaping fluids. Sarah agreed to gradually cut down the number of cigarettes she smoked per day until she didn’t smoke tobacco any longer and was only vaping. She particularly enjoyed experimenting with the different vaping flavours “There is lots of choices and the smell is so much nicer. They also gave me something to do with my hands”. In addition, her advisor Lisa helped her to create a quit plan too, and, together they set an official quit date.

PRACTICE DISTRACTION TECHNIQUES

“Stress would make me crave a cigarette so I developed some really absorbing distractions techniques, like colouring, gardening, taking a walk outside or, sitting in the garden to help distract my mind.” Sarah admitted that there were times when she slipped up and had a cigarette. However, she never gave up trying to quit and, her advice to other smokers who want to quit too is simple “If you do have a cigarette don’t beat yourself up, just make sure you get back to quitting. Try to practice distraction techniques that work for you”.

Since becoming smoke free Sarah is able to enjoy the extra time she has and appreciates that the importance of not taking lengthy smoking breaks that constantly interrupted her day. “Quitting smoking has made me realise just how much time it took out of my day, some of which was precious family time”. Sarah has also found that her expendable income has drastically increased now that she is not spending on tobacco.

Sarah’s adviser Lisa said, “Sarah engaged very well right from the first phone call and she was determined to stop smoking for her baby and her own health.”

If you would like advice and support to quit smoking like Sarah you can contact the One You Plymouth team today and we can help you take the first steps to become smoke free. Call 01752 437177 or email [email protected].