“I hated smoking, but couldn’t quit”
James Kenny gave up cigarettes after a family hiking trip made him see his addiction differently
Even though James Kenny detested his addiction, he couldn’t give it up. “I smoked around 20 a day, which cost me about £13 a packet and by the time I stopped I hated being a smoker,” says the 39-year-old photographer from Northampton.
“When I started smoking it was seen as cool and it really isn’t now. We know it’s an addiction but I just hated everything about it - I felt really grotty.
“I knew the detrimental impact it was having on my health and finances and more than anything, I felt so guilty about my kids – especially when they’d beg me to stop.”
But a family hiking trip made James see his addiction differently. “A year or so ago, we got into hiking as a family and we all love it,” he says. “We’ve done Yr Wyddfa and Scafell Pike and next year we’re planning Ben Nevis.
“I’m embarrassed to admit that when we’d stop for a break I’d have a cigarette and think, ‘This is just grim. I’m outside in the fresh air and I’m puffing away in front of my boys.’ “I’d tried to stop four or five times before, but always went back to it. Not this time. I didn’t even plan it, I just stopped.” It didn’t take long for James to feel healthier – and he noticed he had more spare cash too. “I started feeling better so quickly. My taste and smell are back, I haven’t used my asthma inhaler for months, I wake up and I can breathe properly – I haven’t heard myself wheeze for months,” he says.
“Now I am using an NHS app which supports you to stop smoking - the last time I checked I’d saved £862 and in a year it will be £4,380.
“Best of all is how pleased my family are that I’ve stopped. I was the most anti-smoker smoker you’d ever meet and I’m sure I’ll never smoke again.”