Carol shares her tips as she celebrates quitting smoking after 42 years

Published: 31 May 2023

Spring 2023 marks three years since Carol Gilby said goodbye to cigarettes. The 59-year-old had been smoking for 42 years when she finally decided to quit.

It was while at a cataract appointment at the Royal Derby Hospital that Carol saw a poster explaining why smoking is bad for eye health. It gave her the motivation to quit and she accessed Livewell’s free support and treatments to help her kick the habit for good.

Now, to mark World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, Carol is encouraging other smokers to cut cigarettes out of their life. She said:

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 Livewell advisor, Gemma who advised her to use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) patches, as these had worked well for her in a previous attempt 23 years ago. Carol said:

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 says she loves that her house and clothes now smell fresh.  She’s also saved around £3,000 since quitting and, as Livewell supply 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. She said:

Now that I’ve 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 has shared her top tips to help others stop smoking:

• 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 – 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 could do it!

If you’re inspired to quit like Carol did, World No Tobacco Day provides a great opportunity. You're three times more likely to succeed getting professional support than using will power 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.

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