Fags very much!
Thursday 1st January 2009
Give up smoking and get a free winter holiday. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? But that was how my daughter, Laura, 20, had persuaded me to quit the habit I'd had since I was 14.
I'd tried doing it with willpower alone, but even when I'd started having HRT four years earlier, and the doctor had warned me that smoking could cause a stroke and increase my chances of getting breast cancer, I hadn't given up. I wanted to quit, but something always seemed to get in the way.
It didn't help that my partner, James Bain, 52, smoked, as did my elder daughter, Carri, 22, who lived with us. To be honest, the only person who didn't approve of my 20-a-day habit was Laura. And last night, she'd caught me looking around in my purse for cigarette money.
'What do you reckon to booking a winter holiday?' she'd suggested.
'It sounds lovely,' I'd said. 'Shame we can't afford it.'
My job as a carer paid OK, but there was no way I could afford a winter break.
'You could if you didn't chuck your money away on those,' she'd said, staring at the fag hanging out of my mouth. 'Please try to give up.'
So next morning, I went down to my local pharmacy.
'I'd like to sign up for the Pharmacy Smokefree Services programme,' I said.
'You'll need these,' the pharmacist smiled, handing me some nicotine patches. 'And we'll do a carbon monoxide test.'
'A what?' I frowned.
'When you smoke, the carbon monoxide enters your bloodstream and poisons you,' the pharmacist explained. 'We need to see how much poison you've got in your blood.'
So I puffed into the tube, and watched the numbers on the display.
'The reading's 32 parts per million,' said the pharmacist. 'That's normal for a smoker.'
By the time I got home, I was more determined than ever to quit. With Laura's support, and the help of the patches, I stuck to it. And Laura stuck to her idea of a winter break.
'Why don't you put £5 in a jar every time you'd have bought ciggies, so you can see how much money you've saved?' she suggested.
Seven weeks on, I tipped out the notes onto the kitchen table.
'It's £245!' I gasped.
That afternoon, I drove to the pharmacy for my weekly carbon monoxide test. As I breathed into the tube, the numbers shot upwards.
'This shouldn't happen,' the pharmacist said, as a red light flashed and the machine made
a loud buzzing sound.
'What's wrong?' I frowned.
'Your reading's 49,' she said. 'That's the equivalent of chain smoking 100 cigarettes a day.'
'But I've given up,' I protested.
'You may have been poisoned,' she said, checking my lips.
'Carbon monoxide poisoning makes your lips go rosy red. They look normal to me, but you need to see your doctor immediately.'
I was in a right state as I drove round to my GP.
'Have you felt ill?' he asked.
'I've had a few headaches,' I said.
'That could be carbon monoxide poisoning,' he nodded. 'You need to check out all your home appliances to make sure they're not leaking.'
That evening, I arranged for a gas engineer to come round.
'Well?' I said, as he checked the boiler.
'Looks fine to me,' he replied.
'Might be the car,' James piped up.
So, next morning, he dropped the car round at the garage and we waited for the results. A week later, as soon as I saw the mechanic's face, I knew it was serious.
'The part of the exhaust pipe that pumps out the carbon monoxide's eroded,' the mechanic said. 'So the poisonous fumes have been staying in the car instead.'
'Oh my goodness,' I gasped.
'We've replaced the pipe now,' he went on. 'So the car's safe.'
'At least we know what was wrong,' James said later.
But I wasn't convinced until the following week, when I went to see the pharmacist.
'Your reading's back down to a healthy nine,' she smiled.
Finally, I could relax. I'm still using nicotine patches to stay off the ciggies and, as well as feeling healthy, I've saved £800. I broke the good news to Laura.
'You know that holiday you mentioned?' I said. 'What about Gran Canaria?'
'Brilliant,' she cheered.
I knew quitting smoking would be good for my health in the long-run, but I never dreamed it would save my life so soon.
For tips on how to quit smoking, visit www.goodtoknow.co.uk and type quit smoking into
the search box