Geoff had been smoking for 55 years, from the age of 10! He grew up smoking and after a heart attack in 2012, Geoff tried to quit but as he was working in a cigarette factory this proved to be quite difficult! This year, after a conversation with his GP about his health and breathing difficulties, Geoff decided to give it another go. Here’s what he had to say about the support he has received:
‘On a scale of 1 – 10, this service is absolutely off the scale! It’s been brilliant. Marie, my advisor, has been so helpful and nice to talk to. I’ve been quit now since April and I have passed the point of return. I’ll never smoke again! As soon as I quit, I felt the immediate benefits to my breathing. I now go to the gym 6 days a week as well as swimming 3 times a week. It’s truly changed my life!’
Before quitting, Anne smoked for 20 years. Since being Smoke free, Anne reports feeling less breathless and better off financially as smoking was becoming too much of a burden on the purse strings!
‘I just got to an age where I thought it was time to quit. I’ve hit that point in life and I simply could not afford to smoke anymore.’
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Anne though, as she had quit once before but due to home stressors started smoking again. When Anne came back to One You for support, it was the familiarity of being able to work with her advisor Jack again:
‘It was good to work with Jack because we could pick up from where we were before, it didn’t feel like I was starting all over again. I received excellent support from Jack who was very supportive and gave me the advice I needed. I really appreciated the contact time and scheduled appointments. I’d recommend anyone wanting to stop smoking to come through the One You service!’
Sam’s journey to being Smoke free started when he contacted his GP about support to quit. The GP put Sam in contact with One You Lincolnshire, and the rest is history!
‘My dad has COPD and I knew I didn’t want to end up in a similar position. I wanted to get fitter as I was getting out of breath too easily. My advisor Hayley was an absolute star! She was so easy to talk, it was like speaking to a friend. I can’t praise her enough; I’ve been smoke free for 12 weeks now and I don’t even think about smoking. I’ve also joined the gym! It’s a great service and more people should know about it.’
Vicki has been a non-smoker for 4 months now, due to her own hard work and motivation as well some additional support from One You Lincolnshire.
‘My stop smoking advisor Steve was absolutely amazing and he really helped me stop smoking. He was a huge support. I was struggling one Sunday, feeling sick from the medication so I texted Steve and he rang me first thing Monday morning to offer me some advice on reducing the dosage of my tablets to ensure I still have enough in my system to stop me smoking but at the same time reduce how sick I was feeling.’
Vicki even went one step further to improve her health by losing weight at the same time through improved diet and nutrition choices!
Patricia grew up in an era where cigarettes were advertised as glamorous, which meant her view of smoking was different when she was younger. Unaware of the dangers and seeing it as acceptance in society, Patricia smoked throughout her life. Her journey with One You started in April 2020 when she first attempted to quit smoking. Patricia reduced her smoking, attempted to quit a few times but found it difficult with the national lockdown and change to daily life. It wasn’t until November 2020 when she finally quit for good & has been smoke free ever since. When asked about her experience with One You, she said:
‘My advisor Jack was extremely good, and I could really talk to him. He is an attentive and empathetic listener who helped me stop smoking and helped me through lockdown as I live alone. I am extremely grateful to him for everything he did. Since quitting I feel a lot better in myself. I can’t say I don’t ever think about smoking because sometimes I do, but I have the tools and education now to handle this. I found that getting support from a Stop Smoking service made me more accountable, I didn’t want to let the service down because of all the support they gave me in terms of time and nicotine replacement therapy.’
‘My experience has been a fantastic one. Donna has been so supportive, she's gone above and beyond with smoking cessation tips and what to expect stopping smoking, advice and support with my personal life and triggers that may have led me to relapse. Donna has even given me routes and other services to help me through tough times. A genuine and true person who has made my journey person focused and tailored to me. I cannot thank her enough and I'm so grateful she was allocated as my stop smoking advisor.’
August 2, 2021
