Julie’s story:
Helping others quit
… just like I did!

Julie smoked for 16 years until, one day, she decided enough was enough. Now, 24 years on from her last cigarette, she’s now helping others quit too as a health advisor with our Be Well Stop Smoking Service! This is her story…

Back in Scotland everybody seemed to smoke. It was the in-thing at school, and you were the odd one out if you didn’t.

When I was a smoker you could smoke at work – you didn’t even have to leave the building like you do now.

I had a job in sales at a tyre wholesaler depot, and pretty much everybody in the office smoked. Most of the time I didn’t even particularly need a cigarette to be honest, it was just to be social.

I’d generally smoke 20-a-day, maybe more at the weekend or if I was amongst friends because everybody would be passing them around.

Then one day the boss sent me for 20 cigs before I went home and gave me £10, but when I got to the shop I discovered that wasn’t enough. They’d gone over £10 a pack. That’s what triggered me to stop. I’d had enough – and it wasn’t even my tenner!

When I got home, I told everyone: ‘I’m quitting smoking!’ But within an hour I could have cried!!! I was so embarrassed when I realised how hard it was just to go even that short amount of time without a cigarette.

When you’ve never tried to quit before, you don’t realise how difficult it is or how much your whole world revolves around cigarettes.

Like going out for the first time with friends and being among smokers, and worrying about how you’re going to get through that, or going for your first holiday abroad and thinking ‘how am I going to get through duty free and not buy cigarettes?!’

But because I’d said it out loud, I became accountable – and I haven’t had a cigarette in 24 years!

I pretty much quit cold turkey. I didn’t realise at the time that there were services and products to support you.

I remember when I got home from work that day, I still had 14 cigarettes in my pocket. I kept those same 14 cigarettes in that pack for two years, just in case! Sometimes I used to go to them and then it was a choice that I’d have to make, whether to smoke them or not.

I suppose I felt that if I had a craving and went to the shop to buy some then I would definitely end up smoking them, because I’d spent the money.

But with the job I’m doing now I know everybody is different and everybody’s journey is different. Some people feel as though if they had the cigarettes there, they would smoke them.

It’s about finding what works for you, and that’s what we’re here to do at Be Well.

I try to tell my clients about my own experiences because I think sometimes it encourages you to hear other people’s successes.

Quitting smoking isn’t easy and you’ve got to want to do it, that’s the big thing. But even when you really want to, it’s difficult – and those first couple of days are the hardest.

My first piece of advice is to take one day at a time. In fact, take one hour at a time when you start! And don’t beat yourself up if you give in to temptation.

Sometimes people say: ‘I tried before and I failed.’ But that’s all part of the journey and there’s always something to learn by it.

Maybe it was that you didn’t use nicotine replacement, or that the product you used wasn’t the right one for you? Or maybe there were triggers that led you to having a smoke?

Whatever the reason, I’ve never once had a client come in and say to me ‘I’ve started smoking again and I’m pleased I did’. They mostly say: ‘What did I do that for?!’ That’s good, because it shows you want to succeed.

Coming to see your Be Well health advisor every week keeps you accountable, and there’s such a feel-good factor when people have a carbon monoxide (CO) reading and can see there’s been an improvement. When they see their CO levels have come right down, you can see their face light up!

As advisors we can give all sorts of support, whether it’s behavioural change or nicotine replacement like patches, inhalators, gums, lozenges… there’s so many things out there.

We try to help with how to distract yourself, to delay and to think about what you’re doing and not just react to your cravings or triggers, and just basically change your routines. Small changes have big effects.

It might take a few attempts and there might be some bumps in the road, but we learn from that and move forward.

Quitting smoking is a big journey but it’s so worth it and there’s so much to gain.

An average pack of cigarettes is £15 now, so by not smoking I’m saving about £5,000-£6,000-a-year. Instead I’m buying nice things; nice cars, nice holidays, doing jobs around the house.

I’m healthier, I can exercise, I enjoy cycling and I run… A lot! Yes, these days I go all over the world running marathons!

My first was the New York Marathon, and since then I’ve run marathons in Chicago, Boston, Berlin, London, Edinburgh and Paris, as well as the Las Vegas half-marathon, the Lakeland 100 and the Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa (56 miles). All that’s come from stopping smoking.

I’m humble enough to know everybody’s situation’s is different and everybody’s reason to quit is different too. Whatever your reason is, just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I guess you could say it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

There’s never really a ‘right time’, so set yourself a quit date and stick to it. Find a target… maybe a nice holiday or whatever. Put the money you save to one side and then treat yourself! After all, you’ve done the hard work.

You’ve got to celebrate your wins, even the small wins. I’d celebrate getting through a day! Give yourself a pat in the back. Be kind to yourself, not harsh. Everybody’s quick to criticise themselves, aren’t they? But not so quick to praise themselves for the good work that they’re doing.

That’s why it makes me so proud when they get to the other side and they’re actually seeing the benefits of quitting.

My top tip, above all else, would be to get help and take the support that’s there – because whatever you do in life, it’s always better to be supported.

Research shows you’re FOUR TIMES more likely to quit smoking when you have the right support. So if you’d like to find out about the help available from the Be Well Stop Smoking Service, get in touch today!

Start your journey to quit

Learn more about the Be Well Stop Smoking Service

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Julie’s story:
Helping others quit
… just like I did!

Back in Scotland everybody seemed to smoke. It was the in-thing at school, and you were the odd one out if you didn’t.

When you’ve never tried to quit before, you don’t realise how difficult it is or how much your whole world revolves around cigarettes.

I try to tell my clients about my own experiences because I think sometimes it encourages you to hear other people’s successes.

As advisors we can give all sorts of support, whether it’s behavioural change or nicotine replacement like patches, inhalators, gums, lozenges… there’s so many things out there.

I’m humble enough to know everybody’s situation’s is different and everybody’s reason to quit is different too. Whatever your reason is, just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I guess you could say it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

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