"How I quit smoking after 50 years of addiction"

Smoking was a lifelong habit for 66-year-old Denise Jenkins. After trying her first cigarette as a “naughty schoolgirl” at the age of 15, the Splott resident was hooked.

In her adult years, there were times when she was getting through as many as 80 cigarettes a day and couldn’t function without one. But the addiction had disastrous consequences for her health and left her so out of breath that she was barely able to walk around her home.

“I smoked wherever and whenever I could. My grandchildren used to come into my house and say ‘Nan, it stinks in here’, but at that time it didn’t make any difference,” she said.

“I was ashamed of how much I was smoking. I’d go away with my friends and I’d be the only one needing a cigarette, so I became quite antisocial as I’d always be nipping away to light up.”

Denise, who has the progressive lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said even attending her COPD appointments at her GP surgery became a struggle.

“I used to walk into the surgery 30-40 minutes early so I could spend 10-15 minutes catching my breath from using the stairs,” she admitted. 

After trying smoking cessation services in a group setting, which didn’t work for her, Denise was referred to the Wales’ stop smoking service, Help Me Quit, by her COPD nurse in March 2023. She was given tailored one-to-one support from her advisor, Cathy Fisher, and struck up an instant rapport.

“When Cathy asked me why I wanted to give up smoking, I replied ‘because it’s killing me’. It was that bad,” she added. “But she made it easy. We discussed everything, we wrote things down, we met regularly and she was there for me on the end of the phone if I needed her.

“She made me feel like I could do it. It gave me confidence and I didn’t want to let anyone down.”

Denise was given a variety of free stop-smoking treatments by Cathy including patches and a spray, which if bought privately would have cost £250. She has now spent more than 100 days without a single cigarette – and saved in excess of £2,000.

“I’ve recently gone out picking strawberries with my 12-year-old great niece, and we went to the beach which I haven’t done in about 40 years. I’m not only helping myself, I’m helping my family too.

“I’m enjoying going out for a change. I love the theatre which I never did when I smoked, but now I’m there sometimes twice a day for matinee and evening shows. I also had several inhalers before, but now I only use one.

“I honestly believed I would cheat somewhere along the line and start smoking again, but I haven’t. It’s changed my life and I haven’t looked back. If I can quit, anybody can - I feel like a new woman.”

Data has shown that getting NHS support to stop smoking increases a person’s chances of success by up to 300% compared to going it alone.

Stop smoking advisor Cathy Fisher said she is “incredibly proud” of the progress Denise has made in such a short space of time.

She said: “Denise came in a very poorly lady at the very beginning. She was struggling to walk, she had no social life, she was unable to spend time with her friends. There were lots of things that were really limiting her life, and most of that was down to her COPD she had gained from smoking.

“Every time someone comes in we carry out a carbon monoxide reading which gives us a really good idea of the levels of toxic gas within somebody’s body. Normally on that first visit it’s very high if you’re a smoker, but Denise was unable to use it properly as she found it so hard to breathe.

“But she was very desperate to quit. She was a different person at the end of the sessions than she was at the beginning.”

Cathy is one of four Help Me Quit advisors in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan who provide cessation services in community settings either in groups or one-to-one. For those who may have mobility problems, are unwell or are working, phone appointments are also available.

“People receive 12 weeks of products free of charge, but alongside that they will get seven weeks of support,” she explained. “So the person will either come in or receive a phone call every week for those seven weeks, and for another five weeks we are still at the end of the phone if they need a bit of extra help.”

For a full list of stop smoking services locally, and to find out if you need to pre-book an appointment, please contact the Help Me Quit contact centre team by:

·    Calling freephone 0800 085 2219

·    Texting HMQ to 80818 (text cost is one standard rate message)

·    Going to the Help Me Quit website here and requesting a call back

Smokers can also be referred to Help Me Quit by their GP or practice nurse, or if they find themselves in hospital they can access services and products on-site before being transferred back to the community. Some pharmacies in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan also offer Help Me Quit advice and products.