Barry Quits!
Barry (aged 75) used to spend £200 a month on cigarettes. Quitting smoking was on his bucket list when he turned 75. After smoking for 60 years Barry’s health was suffering, he would find himself coughing and wheezing and regularly being out of breath. His declining health and financial situation were the turning point he needed to seek help and take the courage to quit
Barry first came across the Healthy Lifestyles Service whilst having a smoke and saw our sign about a free heart check. Whilst his heart was ok, he’d been wanting to stop smoking for some time and had tried many times in the past but found it extremely difficult. Seeing our sign prompted him to speak to one of our coaches, make an appointment and start his journey to becoming smokefree.
Barry shared with his coach the motivation behind wanting to kick his habit of 60 years:
“I wanted to be healthier and I was going to bed of a night having coughing fits which was waking me up. I felt like an old man, and whilst I’m 74, I don’t feel my age and I didn’t want to feel old before my time – that’s what smoking does to you. I didn’t want to start again because it’s so hard to stop”
Barry’s Healthy lifestyles coach Pete worked with him to find other activities to fill the time that his smoking occupied. Through dedication and hard work on both sides, Pete showed him how to kick bad habits by making small changes to his routine such as eating a healthy breakfast when having a cup of tea in the morning instead of smoking a cigarette.
“I’ve been smoking for nearly 60 years and you can’t just drop a habit of a life-time. It’s really difficult but coming here and talking to someone feels good”.
Quitting smoking has also helped Barry benefit financially too and achieve his wish of saving for a trailer and tow-bar from the money he would have otherwise spent on smoking.
“I feel better for it and financially too – you only get one life and you have to make the most of it”.
“Talking to somebody is so helpful because as they say, a problem shared is a problem halved. I would recommend this service and if it wasn’t for people like Pete (Barry’s HLS Coach) then I would have never done this. Having a person to share my success with has been a life changer”.