Julie and Tyronne are a married couple who, with the help of our stop smoking support service, have embarked on a journey to quit smoking. They have proved that it isn’t just about breaking a habit. Instead it is about embracing a lifestyle change that can transform your health and sensory experiences, as well as significantly boost your finances.
Julie had been smoking for 25 years and Tyronne smoked for 40 years before they became smokefree, both smoking around 10 – 12 cigarettes a day. As the price of tobacco continued to increase they knew they could not afford this costly habit anymore. “We were spending £64 a week on tobacco and the price just keeps going up and up.” They found out about our stop smoking services on Facebook and decided to give us a call. Our friendly Wellbeing team promptly arranged an appointment for the couple with our expert NHS Health Improvement Practitioner, Katie.
Katie talked through all the stop-smoking support aids available and the couple decided to quit with the aid of patches and a vape. Katie supplied them with patches and a vaping kit with three months’ supply of vaping fluids as part of our ‘Swap to Stop’ vaping programme. “Vaping helped with the habit of inhaling something and it also gave us that hand-to-mouth movement which we missed. We also liked that it gave us the nicotine without all those nasty chemicals you get in tobacco.”
Furthermore, Katie enabled the couple to quantify and measure their progress using a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Monitor and Julie found this especially motivating, saying: “When we first did the CO test our reading was over 40 (ppm). A week after not smoking, it went right down to 3 (ppm) and this really spurred me on. I can’t believe I was breathing in all that rubbish!” Julie further added: “We have been to many functions where people were smoking and it didn’t phase me, I did not feel the need to have a cigarette because I had my vape.”
Shortly after becoming smokefree great things started to happen. Now that a large part of their income is not going up in smoke, they can save the money they spent on cigarettes and use it to treat themselves and their family to something special: “We are using the money to save for a holiday and we’ve also got more money to treat our grandchildren which is lovely.”
Quitting smoking really does lead to a richer life in more ways than one. In addition to the financial boost, they both experienced significant improvements to their health. “Before we were out of breath walking up hills and in the morning we coughed a lot. Now we have quit smoking our breathlessness has gone and we don’t cough anymore. We have so much more energy and a great get-up-and-go feeling. We also hated the smell of cigarette smoke but everything smells so much nicer now and food tastes better too.”
Julie offers the following advise for anyone who is considering becoming smokefree: “It’s so much easier if you get some help from a stop smoking adviser. You’ll get the support you need and you’ll get help over the phone and face-to-face. Blowing through the Carbon Monoxide reader and seeing it go down is really motivating. Katie was brilliant. If we had any problems at all, she would advise us on other things we could try if we weren’t getting on with something. I never thought we would ever quit and it’s brilliant we quit together. Our children are so pleased for us.”
Julie and Tyronne have shown that quitting can lead to many benefits, such as having more energy, feeling healthier, breathing better, and having extra money in your pocket. If you would like advice and support to quit smoking, like Julie and Tyronne, 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].