I worked as an auxiliary nurse during Covid in A&E, it was such a stressful time, and I soon recognised that the only breaks my colleagues got were for cigarettes, so I started smoking so that I could have a break too. This meant you could get off the premises, and they can’t pull you back into work. As we were so busy, this became the only way for me to have a break and an opportunity to see my friends as well.
Because of the work and environment that I was in, I caught Covid five times. On one occasion I was very poorly with it, and my GP had always asked about my smoking and advised me against it, but I wasn’t ready to quit then. They would always say that I wouldn’t get so ill if I wasn’t smoking and I realised that they were right, as it was affecting my respiratory system and my lungs. I was 23 years old, and I couldn’t even get up the stairs at work, it was awful.
Outside of work, I worked as a Street Angel, going around the homeless community, and the people I was working alongside, and those we were supporting, all smoked too. The environments I found myself in, were very male dominated, and all smoked, so it was hard to break this cycle. I now work as a Funeral Director, and again, this is predominantly an older male generation, so the cycle continued.
I tried to quit before, by going cold turkey, but it didn’t work. I didn’t use any products to help with cravings either. I would occasionally use a vape, but it was more to look cool than to properly quit.
My sister works for SmokeFree Hull, and so I thought I’d give the service a go! I decided to contact the service and worked with SmokeFree Advisor Lorraine. She helped me get some lozenges for my cravings which worked ok. I did find they worked almost too fast, and so I forgot I had taken them, and would have more, which made me feel worse.
I have ADHD, but I hadn’t been diagnosed at this time, and I wasn’t on my medication, so I couldn’t get regulated. I was so irritable if I didn’t have a cigarette, but later I realised that I was self-medicating by smoking to get through the day.
I found taking the gum easier, as I could just pop it in and forget about it, it was less for my brain to think about, and I could then carry on with my day.
Since quitting I can breathe so much easier too. I used to go to places and schedule my day around when I could have a cigarette, and I would freak out at airports, and always had to plan my life around when I could smoke, which was crazy.
As a Funeral Director, I work closely with people when they are vulnerable and sometimes go into their homes, so I would always worry that I smelt of smoke, and that that would be all that they remembered from my service, which wasn’t what I wanted.
I’ve also seen an improvement to my finances, as smoking is expensive at nearly £16 a packet. I used to have to ration my cigarettes, just to get by. I can now buy other things with this money, that I actually need and are useful.
I also eat a lot better now that I’ve quit too, I have proper meals, whereas before I would just snack. It dulls your appetite when you smoke, and I could just live off coffee and cigarettes without really eating. That makes you really tired too!
My skin is better, I don’t have dull skin now, and I definitely noticed that I’m not ill as much, or it doesn’t last as long as it used to when I get a cold in winter. Before, I would always have to cough in church whilst conducting a service, which was embarrassing and I don’t do that anymore.
Lorraine was great, she would give me regular check-ins and was really good to talk to. She wasn’t pushy either, and she would always keep our conversation person centred. She would always ask, ‘what do you want?’, or ‘how does this make you feel?’ As a person I like to lead, and I lead my own directive, so it wouldn’t have worked if someone was telling me what to do. I also work at all hours, and so she would text me, and work around my shifts - it felt more on my terms, which is what worked best for me.
If you’re thinking of stopping smoking, you should definitely go through the service. I tried to do it without help and it doesn’t work; you need that support. I found it useful knowing I had someone to report back to, someone I could call to say that I’d done it. I found myself writing a list of things to tell her, not in a formal way, but it was just nice to talk through what I had achieved. What was great was that Lorraine remembered things that I had told her in previous weeks, and she really listened, so it felt like talking to one of my mates instead.
The service still checks in with you afterwards as well to see how you’re doing, and after the first 6 months, I did think, that I could have a cigarette, but knowing that I was getting a call helped me persevere. Knowing that you’re going to get a call helps you to stay smokefree and on track. Then you’re over the hard part, and fine after that. I smoked for roughly 7 years, and I’m now one-year smokefree and feeling really good.