Member of the month - May 2023
Mon 1 May 2023
May Client of the Month – Jadwiga
Worsening rheumatoid arthritis and becoming a great-grandmother for the first time were Jadwiga’s big reasons to quit. With World No Tobacco Day at the end of May, Jadwiga was nominated by her advisor, Joe who supported her to kick the smoking habit she’d started as a child in her home country of Poland 60 years ago.
The 71-year-old moved to Derby eight years ago and didn’t believe she could give up her 10 cigarettes a day. Her daughter, Kasia recommended she get professional help from Livewell after quitting herself with the service’s support in 2017 so she booked her a phone appointment.
Joe suggested Jadwiga try a combination of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products – patches to provide a steady supply of nicotine throughout the day and fast-acting mouth spray and lozenges to combat cravings when they occurred. Livewell offers up to 10 weeks of free NRT collected from pop-up clinics across Derby. It means clients like Jadwiga don’t need to pay themselves and can start saving money as soon as they quit.
To encourage Jadwiga to keep motivated, Joe sent weekly text messages, which Kasia translated into Polish as she explains:
“The dangers of second-hand smoke for children are more widely known and were the biggest reasons my mum wanted to quit. She wanted to hold her new great-granddaughter, Lily without threatening the baby’s health. Mum’s own health was being compromised too. Smoking boosts inflammation and makes rheumatoid arthritis medication less effective which was another key factor in Mum’s decision to give up.
Joe is continuing to do a fantastic job for my mum – checking in on how she’s doing and sending her text messages with advice and support. Having been through the journey myself, I can also help her through the urges. The free treatments combined with this support are helping Mum to stay quit and now she’s through the toughest time and loves holding six-month-old Lily as a smoke-free grandma, I know she won’t relapse. I’m very proud of her.
At the time of going to press, Jadwiga is celebrating 10 weeks of smoke-free. She added:
“Since stopping smoking, my medication side effects have eased and it works better in reducing my joint pain. I enjoy cuddling Lily knowing I’m not exposing her to toxins which could be left on my clothes if I was still smoking, even though I never smoked in the house. My sleep has improved, and I have more free time for my hobbies and family.
For smokers in Derby thinking about stopping – World No Tobacco Day on 31 May is the perfect opportunity. Livewell is free, friendly and can greatly boost your chances of quitting for good.”
Carol celebrates three years of smoke-free and encourages people in Derby to quit this World No Tobacco Day on 31 May
Spring 2023 marks three years of being free from the ties of smoking for 59-year-old Carol Gilboy. And after 42 years of smoking, that’s quite an achievement and one she’s thankful she chose to take.
Carol quit with Livewell’s free support and treatments having joined the service at the start of the pandemic.
Her turning point came when she saw a poster explaining why smoking is bad for eye health whilst at a cataract appointment at the Royal Derby Hospital in March 2020.
“Smoking is known to cause heart disease and lung cancer but I had no idea about the detrimental effects that smoking could have had on my vision. It made me think about my chances of having other health problems so I decided it was a good time to try to quit.”
Carol booked a telephone appointment with advisor, Gemma who advised her to use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) patches as these had worked well for her in a previous quit attempt 23 years ago.
“The combination of support and treatments worked well for me. Gemma checked how I was doing and offered call support if I needed it. She also put the onus on me to request more patches when I ran out. I knew I’d feel ashamed if I slipped up so I stuck to it.”
Carol loves that her house and clothes smell fresh. She’s also saved around three thousand pounds since quitting and as Livewell supplies up to 10 weeks of NRT products for free, she also saved on the cost of the patches. Spurred on by her successful quit, Carol is now keen to change other lifestyle behaviours.
“Now that I’ve stayed quit for this long, I’ve started to improve other areas of my health such as cutting back on alcohol, increasing my exercise and eating better.
Stopping smoking was easier than I thought but I remind myself at weak moments that it might not be as easy to quit again. I also regularly post about my progress on Livewell’s Facebook page, which helps keep me on track - it’s harder to relapse when you’ve told the world that you’ve quit!”
Carol’s Top tips
- Don’t keep tobacco or cigarettes in the house – get rid of any temptation.
- Set yourself a project to keep busy and distracted – I started growing vegetables in my garden.
- Remind yourself you’re a non-smoker (introduce yourself in that way) – I used that mantra every time I woke up craving a cigarette.
- Surround yourself with non-smoking friends and family - this will reduce the temptation to light up in social situations.
- Tell your friends and family (in person or on social media) about your quit – they will support you and you’ll feel you can’t let them down.
- Accept praise/rewards – it makes it difficult to go back.
- Use a treatment that works for you – patches remove the physical withdrawal symptoms of nicotine and worked well for me as I weaned off them. They enabled me to focus on the psychological aspects of quitting. I kept telling myself that I’m no longer addicted and that I can do it!!
Inspired to quit?
World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2023 provides a great opportunity to quit and you're three times more likely to succeed in getting professional support than using willpower alone.
Livewell offers Derby people FREE support and encouragement to beat cravings alongside up to 10 weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy products.
Book a telephone stop-smoking appointment today.
