I started smoking when I was 14 years of age and quit when I was 41 years of age.
I was actually very athletic in school and I'm actually still very athletic now. And I used to be in the athletics team and I would do long distance running. And then all of a sudden I discovered that I couldn't run as fast or as far as I used to.
And I realised that cigarettes were bad for me. And that's when I tried to stop and I realised I couldn't.
When I first tried to quit, I was so shocked at how hard it was. I had no idea that cigarettes were so addictive. I thought I'd just be able to put them down and walk away. And that was probably a year after I started smoking when I was 15, when I first tried to quit. And I realised this was going to be a long battle.
I tried using gum. I tried using patches. I tried hypnotherapy. None of them worked. The longest I think I ever lasted was one year, but the cravings never went away.
What finally worked to help me give up smoking was medication. I saw my doctor, they prescribed me a medication and that was the only thing that worked for me.
My husband was also a smoker. We both gave up smoking and neither of us have smoked again since.
Probably the thing that I did most to support myself was to actually break the habitual routines of smoking. A lot of the times I'd be in the routine of having a cigarette after I finished a meal, have a cigarette after I got off the train, have a cigarette at the traffic lights, all these little triggers. And so I tried to break those by chewing gum or mints.
By giving up the smoking we have saved so much money to the point that we now go on annual holiday or at least once every 2 years on an overseas trip and that is our reward to each other for giving up smoking.
So some of the things I noticed after I quit smoking was I was healthier, I had more energy, I got back into my sport more so I was playing sport more regularly. I was able to start running again, I was able to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
My advice to someone who wants to quit and hasn't been able to in the past would be, number one, don't stop trying.
My second bit of advice would be try all the resources out there because there is something out there that works for you. Whether it's the website, whether it's the quit line, whether it's patches or medication or cold Turkey. Just don't stop trying because you will get there one day.