Helen’s quit story

A Doncaster woman is urging other long-term ‘light’ smokers to follow her lead and kick the habit after ‘kidding herself’ that her habit of just a few cigarettes a day for more than 50 years was doing her no harm.

Helen Parker, 68, says she was given a ‘huge scare’ when she was told by a nurse at a screening programme last November that she had put herself ‘at a very high risk’ of getting lung cancer.

It was the jolt she needed to consider kicking the habit, something she has now done thanks to the support of Smokefree Starts, which connects people to their local stop smoking support services across South Yorkshire.

“I always thought that because I smoked only three cigarettes a day, it wouldn’t be causing any harm to me. I’d obviously been kidding myself for many years.”

“I saw my cigarettes as my treats. It was engraved in my routine. I looked forward to them, especially the first one of the day, after breakfast.

“The nurse asked me some questions, and then she said I was a very high risk for getting lung cancer, not because of how much I smoked, but because of how long I’d smoked, as I started when I was 15.

“It was quite a huge shock. I was given the details of the Smokefree Starts service there and then and I just thought that I had to give it a go.”

‘It worked – even though I wasn’t sure I really wanted to quit’

Helen admits she attended the service somewhat reluctantly – and believing it wouldn’t work – as she ‘enjoyed smoking so much’.

“I went thinking it wouldn’t work because it was a 50-year habit that was entrenched in my life, and I enjoyed smoking too much. I wasn’t sure that my heart was really in it, and whether I was determined enough. I knew I was only there because I’d had the health scare.”

Smokefree Starts connects people in South Yorkshire with their local stop smoking services making it easy to access free, expert support. Services provide tailored support and personalised quit plans aimed at putting people at ease, whether it be via one-to-one or group sessions, with support offered face to face, over the telephone or even online, with free nicotine replacement therapy, vapes, and stop smoking medications amongst the options available.

Helen chose to receive one-to-one support from a specialist stop smoking advisor through the Yorkshire Smokefree Doncaster Service.She also used a vape to help manage her nicotine cravings, giving her the support and tools she needed to successfully quit smoking.

“My advisor was excellent and very supportive. She discussed what product would help me best, and she was non-judgemental, which I thought was really important.”

“Any smoker will tell you that you feel constantly judged and lectured to about stopping, especially at appointments about your health, so this approach was much more understanding and supportive. 

“In fact, in my first few weeks I did have the odd cigarette, but I felt able to tell her that. I wasn’t frightened to admit it and she just said not to worry about it, and to try to start over again. 

“Interestingly, when I did have a cigarette, it wasn’t as enjoyable as I thought it would be, so that was clearly a step in the right direction. It reduced my craving and want for it.”

‘It worked for me; it could work for you’

Having now managed eight months without a cigarette, Helen is sharing her story as part of South Yorkshire Tobacco Alliance’s “It worked for me, it could work for you” campaign, which is urging smokers to turn to Smokefree Starts’ free local stop smoking support services across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield.

“It’s been about peace of mind for me really, and knowing I’ve done the right thing for my health,” Helen added.

“When you get to my age, you do start to have thoughts about your own mortality, and I want to be able to enjoy the rest of my life in the best possible health. My mum was a non-smoker, and she lived to 98. 

“I want to spend as much of the rest of my life in as good health as possible, so I am so glad I quit. 

“If you ask me if I miss smoking, I can be honest and say yes, at times I do, especially when out with friends, but that is when the vape comes in. It’s my safeguard, and it helps me manage those cravings.”

Stop smoking services are three times more effective than trying alone.

Smoking rates in South Yorkshire remain above the national average as 12.6% of adults smoke compared to 10.9% in England, totalling around 141,000 people.

Specialist stop-smoking services are among the most effective ways to quit smoking. People who use these services, alongside proven stop-smoking aids, are around three times more likely to quit successfully than those who try to quit on their own. However, despite their effectiveness, only 5% of smokers make use of these services.