Make your life a smokefree zone

One of the biggest single differences we can make to our health and wellbeing is to stop smoking and there’s now more help than ever out there to support you through it. Ralph Biddulph, 58, from Surrey, gave up smoking in May.

I started smoking in my early teens, and at the start of 2020, I was on 60 a day. I knew I needed to do something about it as

my work is quite physical; the smoking was taking its toll. When I lost my job due to the pandemic, I decided that it was as good a time as any to stop smoking.

Away from the habits and rituals of my job, along with visits to the pub and all sorts of reasons for regular fag breaks, I had time

Within a month of giving up, I had stopped getting out of breath when I walked, and my taste buds have woken up!

to make a change. I Googled “stop smoking services near me” and an organisation called One You Surrey came up.

It had a range of free options to try – which is great as some of the treatments are quite costly. I tried nicotine replacement therapies like e-cigarettes and gum, and I’ve settled on vaping which works well for me. Within a month of giving up, I had stopped getting out of breath when I walked, and my taste buds have woken up! I feel so much better

– I wish I’d done it years ago. I’m proud of myself. I’ve been smokefree since May 20 and I have no intention of ever starting again.