Taylor started smoking when he was 14 years old and, before he became smoke free, he would smoke 10 – 15 cigarettes a day, costing him around £30 a week.
Sadly, Taylor lost his father to a heart condition, which he strongly believes was caused by his father’s smoking habit, saying: “My Dad was a heavy smoker and was smoking regularly from the age of 13. I strongly think that smoking was related to his heart giving out.” Being acutely aware that smoking is a major cause of heart disease, as well as other cardiovascular diseases, Taylor knew it was time to quit.
As a consequence, Taylor visited his GP for help, and they recommended our ‘expert stop smoking support services’. He called our friendly wellbeing team, and was put into contact with Duncan, one of our expert health improvement practitioners.
Duncan provided Taylor with specialised, one-to-one ongoing support, offering encouragement and understanding of the nicotine addiction process. Together they developed a personalised quit plan that included a quit date, strategies to cope with cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and behavioural change support.
To further assist Taylor with his quit attempt, Duncan talked through all the nicotine replacement products available. Of all the options he decided to quit smoking with the aid of vaping. To get him started, Taylor was provided with a free vaping kit and 5 weeks’ worth of vaping fluid. Taylor said: “I’ve tried vaping before but I must have been buying the wrong sort of vapes as they didn’t feel similar to smoking. But, the one I got in the free vaping kit Duncan sent me definitely did feel similar to smoking and was ideal. It satisfied the physical habit of smoking like the hand-to-mouth actions and the hit on the back of the throat when you inhale whilst also curbing the cravings. For me, it’s hardest not to smoke when I drink alcohol in a party environment. I admit I probably would have smoked if I didn’t have the vape so it’s definitely good to fall back on. I’ve been reducing the nicotine strength of the vaping fluids and I’m now down to 3mg.”
Taylor expressed how much he valued Duncan’s motivational support, saying: “Having an advisor really helped. I need someone completely objective to hold me accountable as I find I just push back against friends and family members. Duncan never argued or put pressure on me to quit. I would have pushed back if he did but he was patient.”
For further motivation, Duncan gave Taylor access to a Carbon Monoxide (CO) breath test monitor to provide him with visual, immediate feedback on the harm caused by cigarettes and a measurable way to track his progress toward quitting. Taylor said: “When I first did the test I blew 23 ppm (parts per million of CO). After not smoking for a while I then did the test again and I blew 2 ppm. It was a very proud feeling and gave me a different source of motivation, one that I could actually see.”
Clearly, becoming smoke free has been one of the best decisions Taylor has ever made. He has found his way to freedom, losing nothing and making significant positive gains not only in health, energy and wealth but also the length and quality of his future life.