Lifelong smoker Anne Yates says that she’s never looked back after stopping smoking with us.
Anne, from Melbourne, started smoking 48 years ago when she was just 15 years old. She’s tried several times to stop over the years but never quite succeeded.
Anne, aged 64, said:
“I think the main reasons I failed before were that I wasn’t ready or in the right head space.
“Secondly it was easier for me to make an excuse like ‘I can’t do it this week because of etc etc.”
She was told about Live Life Better Derbyshire’s stop smoking support by a friend and decided to give it a go in May 2023.
But she knew it was going to be a challenging time to quit due to several big life changes including her son, who she is very close to, deciding to go traveling.
“I turned my excuses around and decided I could do this even if some tough changes were coming up - telling myself life will always throw you a curve ball. So this was the start of my journey.”
She started on our free 12 week stop smoking service with support from a dedicated stop smoking advisor.
Anne describes her advisor Claire as ‘amazing’ and was supported with nicotine replacement options including patches and an inhalator.
Anne said:
“We chatted about normal life issues and obviously about my smoking habits.
“I looked forward to chatting with Claire each week. She understood everything I said, she was brilliant, and definitely never judged.
“The best advice I can share is to stay strong, take it steady, do it hour by hour and keep busy doing anything at all to keep yourself occupied.
“An added bonus is the money you save too. I have managed £200 per month.
“I have now done 19 weeks smoke free and haven’t looked back, and I don’t intend to either.”