Our in-patient smoking cessation services have received further praise from another ex-inpatient who we helped go smoke free for good.
One You Plymouth’s smoking cessation service offers help to Livewell South West mental health in-patients during their hospital stay to keep them comfortable from nicotine withdrawal by providing Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) treatment or rechargeable vapes and support them if they decide they want to attempt to quit.
Another ex-patient from Livewell South West’s psychiatric in-patient unit, Sarah, has credited the smoking cessation support she received from one of our NHS Health Improvement Practitioners, Lisa, to helping her become smokefree for good.
During her admission to the Glenbourne Unit, Sarah expressed a desire to make a quit attempt and Lisa talked through all the NRT available. She decided to quit smoking by switching to vaping and Lisa supplied her with a free vape, 12 weeks worth of e-liquid plus an additional 2 weeks worth of e-liquid to take away on discharge.
Sarah said: “I started smoking when I was around 10 years old and smoked between 40 – 60 cigarettes per day. I always wanted to give up and vaping really helped. If it wasn’t for the vape then I don’t think I could have stopped. I actually found vaping more soothing and relaxing than smoking. It tastes so much better and smells nice, I like the blueberry flavour.”
Within days of becoming smokefree, Sarah could feel her body start to clear itself of all those nasty toxins and the repair process beginning:
“Sometimes smoking made me feel physically ill. It felt like my lungs and chest were full of mucus, but they feel so much clearer now. I can walk a lot further than before and my smoker’s cough has stopped. I’ve got so much more energy now.”
An additional beneficial effect of being smoke free is that Sarah can spend more time with her children:
“Now that I have given up, I can be a more hands-on mum. Before, I would be disappearing outside every 10 minutes for a cigarette. Even though I smoked outside, the smell would still linger on my clothes and there was a constant smell of dirty cigarettes in the air.”
As well as being more involved in her children’s lives, by not smoking she has significantly reduced her risk of developing more serious health conditions in the future:
“I watched my mum die of emphysema caused by smoking. I’m so glad I’ve quit, I really think it’s saved my life.”
Along with the physical improvements, she’s also had a significant financial boost:
“I would spend around £100 on smoking, constantly borrowing money from my family to be able to afford it. Now I’ve quit, I can spend the money on nice clothes and redoing the house.”
Evidently, quitting smoking has been a positive change in Sarah’s life, she is determined to remain smokefree and is grateful for the support she received from Lisa in helping her achieve it.
Lisa said: “We realise that when admitted to the inpatient unit that despite being so unwell, the fact that the site is smokefree just adds to patients’ feelings of not being in control – however, Sarah seized the opportunity to change this into something good. She had a positive outlook from the start and this has helped her succeed in becoming smokefree. Well done Sarah – it has been a pleasure helping you.”