Paul started smoking 50 years ago and, before he became smoke free, he would smoke around 25 cigarettes per day.
He received a transformational phone call from the Targeted Lung Health team who passed his phone number onto us with his consent.
Shortly after, one of our expert NHS Health Improvement Practitioners, Nora, gave him a call and arranged face-to-face support meetings at one of our clinics in Mount Gould. Nora provided Paul 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, how to manage triggers, and much, much more…
To further assist Paul with his quit attempt, Nora talked through all the nicotine replacement products available. Of all the options he decided to quit smoking by switching to vaping. To get him started, Nora sent Paul a free vaping kit with 5 weeks supply of vaping fluid. For Paul, vaping provided him with a meaningful exchange to smoking and it was a success story all the way:
“It was a really good service, my vaping kit came within a few days. Vaping helped massively because I still had the hand-to-mouth habit of smoking and it gave me something to do with my hands.”
Paul also found the carbon monoxide (CO) monitor to be a valuable tool for motivation as it provided visible, tangible evidence of the harm caused by smoking and allowed him to track his progress. Seeing the elevated CO levels in his breath reduce over time demonstrated the positive impact of being smoke free and this spurred him on. Paul said:
“At first my CO reading was 27 (ppm). After just 10 days of not smoking, it went right down to 2 (ppm)!”
Now smoke free, Paul is enjoying the health benefits associated with quitting:
“My cough has completely gone. Before I would be coughing all the time. Plus, that constant feeling of phlegm at the back of my throat has gone too.”
As a very welcomed bonus, he’s also saving around £50 a week.
In a final statement, Paul expressed how much he valued Nora’s support:
“Having a stop smoking advisor really helped. She kept reaffirming my decision and having back up was really important for me.”
Clearly, becoming smoke free is one of the best decisions Paul has ever made. He is now reaping all the benefits, from better health to more money in his pocket. You’re three times more likely to stop smoking with specialist support. Our health improvement practitioners work with you to understand your triggers, manage any cravings and support you all the way. If you’re also looking for a specialist advisor that can help you change your life, get in touch today.