Transcript of
Stop smoking
I always felt that it just stank.
I'd smoke and I'd be a part of it and I thought, "It just smells."
It's not good if you have to lean on something that's bad for you.
I would consider that self-sabotage.
I didn't want to die. And it cost too much and I smelt.
Money. Money, definitely. That's it, money.
One morning I just thought... They were in my pocket. I decided that was it.
I screwed them up, put them on the table for my wife to see
and haven't smoked since.
I've got two kids. They don't need to see me smoking.
That's massively important.
Money, health, happiness.
(laughs) The list can go on and on.
About 70 per cent of smokers want to stop.
That's actually a good thing
because tobacco is killing 120,000 people every year in the UK.
And I suppose ultimately smoking is killing you and the people around you.
I've been trying to give up smoking on and off for about two years,
just endlessly giving up for a week or a month, going back to it,
and finally gave up about two months ago.
I used to smoke.
I gave up 15 years ago after being a smoker for 15 years.
I just came to the decision one day,
"Do I want to live or do I want to die?"
And I decided I wanted to live.
I stopped because I saw the damage it did on other people.
As a massage therapist I saw enormous damage to people's skin and bodies
and in my own family my father has emphysema now
because of years and years of smoking an enormous amount,
so I just didn't think it was worth the damage I was doing to my body.
It's fantastically good news on health if you try and quit.
Even after 24 hours, one day without smoking,
your body gets rid of all the poisonous carbon monoxide gas,
so you have more oxygen,
and as soon as one year later your risk of having a heart attack
drops to half that of somebody who carries on smoking.
I got fed up of being controlled by cigarettes.
That's mainly it.
So one year I worked towards 4th July, Independence Day.
That night I smoked till about five o'clock in the morning
and then I stopped,
and I haven't thought...
Well, I've thought about it but certainly won't do it again.
I tried to give up loads of times
and every time it was just really difficult.
I'd give up for a couple of weeks
and then I'd go out drinking with a few of my friends
and you'd be around other people smoking
and I'd suddenly be right back on it again.
It was really difficult.
There are lots of different ways of trying to help stop smoking.
There are six different forms of nicotine replacement therapy,
things like patches and gum.
What suits one person may not suit another,
so that's why there is a range, all smokers are different.
It doesn't matter if you've smoked for two years or 20 years,
one of them will be right for you.
I tried loads of things and nothing worked.
Eventually I tried patches
and amazingly, over a period of weeks, it got much better.
The cravings disappeared and I found it was much easier and I gave up.
The NHS do stop smoking workshops and stuff
and so you go and you have a programme and they explain the different benefits.
I think that's brilliant.
People recommended hypnosis or support groups
and then I thought, "I'll try chewing gum."
It was a replacement for the nicotine so when everyone smoked I had some gum.
It's absolutely amazing.
Ten million people have already stopped smoking in the UK,
so something they're doing must be right,
and it shows that even though it can be difficult,
ten million people have succeeded.
You could be one of them.
I just feel great. I feel empowered by being a non-smoker.
I love the fact that I'm not addicted to something
and I wake up in the morning feeling fantastic every single day.
I can't believe I smoked for so long
and I never believed I could give up.
I thought I was a social smoker.
You realise when you try to give up that you're addicted.
Now it's great to have it off my back. I feel free.
