Louise quits after over sixty years of smoking cigarettes
SUPPORT FROM A HSE ADVISER HAS HELPED ROUNDWOOD WOMAN KICK HABIT OF A LIFETIME, WRITES
With today being the start of Lent, many people may be considering giving up smoking. A tricky task to be sure, but one local woman is happy to report that all-important help is closer than you think
Despite smoking up to 60 cigarettes a day at her worst, Louise Cunningham Dixon from Roundwood has been smoke-free for nine months now, thanks to the support of Vincent at the HSE clinic in Wicklow.
Louise grew up on a farm in Lucan and was just eight years old when she smoked her first cigarette.
Her brother Niall was 18 months older and the two of them, back in the 1950s, used to pinch cigarettes from their mother.
‘I was a smoker for 62 years,’ said Louise. She caught her brother and made a deal, she wouldn’t tell if he included her.
Sometimes they would take their pocket money to the local pub when you could buy a packet of two or three woodbines, or even just a single one.
‘Between our farm and the pub there was a GAA pitch. Their dressing rooms were two old railway carriages,’ said Louise.
The two youngsters would sneak in
She gave up from the age of 14 to 16. Louise’s stepfather came up with a scheme. He said if she could answer 20 questions based on the book ‘Pride and Prejudice’, he would give her £100. If she got even one wrong, she had to stop smoking.
She knew the book well, but his questions were so obscure, she couldn’t possibly have answered them – what page a quote was on for example.
Louise turned to smoking again after a friend visiting the house was horrible to everyone. ‘I had invited her to join us for a holiday and she made everyone’s life miserable,’ said Louise.
‘I learned at that age that you can’t have just one.’
She tried numerous times over the years to stop smoking, with little success. ‘I had no difficulty giving up. I gave up every night when I went to bed, and it lasted until I woke up.’
She has done hypnotherapy, homeopathic remedies, patches, ‘pretty much everything’.
About two years ago a relative, also a very heavy smoker, had serious health problems as a result of smoking.
‘I started out by not smoking in the house,’ said Louise, who was on 40 to 60 per day. She reduced bit by bit to around 11 to 13 a day, and got stuck there. She heard about the medication champex, and that helped her get down to five or six a day, and she got stuck again.
‘Then I heard about the HSE having this scheme and an adviser, in other words Vincent. I made an appointment and went to see him. He really helped me to cut down. I got stuck again at around one or two a day and stayed there for about a week or two. I made a mental leap then, that this would be my last smoke.’
She went onto nicotine replacement spray for a short period, before becoming completely nicotine free.
As well as noticing a great improvement in her pocket, Louise is breathing easily and has more energy. She did put up a little weight, she said, but the benefits are far greater than any disadvantage.
She no longer has any cravings, and said that her life is opening up again.
Her adviser’s support, calmness and reassurance were excellent in helping her to finally become a non-smoker. The grandmother of two, with another on the way, said that her family members are over the moon.
Today, Ash Wednesday, is National No Smoking Day and smokers around the country are being urged to kick the habit.
Research has shown that if someone can quit smoking for 28 days, they are five times more likely to quit for good. Therefore, people are being urged to take on the 28-day challenge.
This new QUIT Smoking campaign encourages people who smoke to make a quit attempt with the right help. It also calls on everybody to support the people they know and love in their lives who smoke to quit.
Anyone who wishes to quit the habit can take advantage of the free support available from local HSE Stop Smoking Advisors.
Face to face clinics are held every week in Arklow, Wicklow, Dundrum and Loughlinstown. An appointment can be booked by calling 01 2744297.
Some tips to quit smoking include preparing to quit - taking a moment to write down reasons for quitting and keeping them close to hand; changing routine and habits such as having water of coffee or tea sparks a craving; delaying until a craving passes, and turning to friends and family for support.
At the HSE Quit website, via hse. ie, smokers can get a quit kit, daily messages or phone calls, an online quit plan, and daily tips.