Breaking a habit that’s been a part of your life since your teenage years is something that takes willpower, strength and a whole lot of support.
This powerful combination helped mother and daughter, Sharon (57) and Catherine (32), stop smoking and experience the health and wellbeing benefits that come with a smokefree life and future.
“I’ve been smoking since I was about 13. I’ve tried giving up a few times, but this time it’s worked!” said Sharon.
Her daughter Catherine had a similar story to share. “I used to smoke every day for no reason. I started when I was 15 and I smoked at least three cigarettes a day, by the end it was about 10 a day. I used to wheeze in bed when I lay down, that encouraged me to quit.”
Tui Ora Quit Coach Carlene has been supporting them on their journey, and her ability to provide helpful and effective advice which includes new stop smoking techniques is what helped Sharon to finally kick the habit.
“I’ve tried giving up three times before, but I mustn’t have really been ready. But this time with Carlene, it worked for me! The best thing was telling me to first get rid of the smoke that means the most to you, and for me that was the morning one that I’d have with my coffee. I’d never thought about that being something that would help, but it really did,” she said.
“By quitting that one, stopping the others just seemed to follow through naturally.”
Giving the house a good scrub to get rid of any remnants of nicotine also helped with the reset. “The day that I decided to stop smoking was the day we cleaned the ceilings,” said Sharon. Carlene remembers, “When I first turned up there were ashtrays inside, the ceilings were brown.” – but now the house shows no signs a smoker used to live there.
Reflecting on how far the mother and daughter have come on their journey, Carlene is quick to remind them that “Two months ago, you were smoking 10 cigarettes a day, now it’s none!”
Both wāhine have experienced a surprising amount of positive change in such a short time.
“Cigarettes were taking time out of my life, the amount of time it would take to go outside to smoke a cigarette, now I get that back,” says Sharon, “It’s beneficial for my health, and I get to spend more time with my grandkids.”
“My smell has improved, food tastes better, and I’ve got more money – I can buy more food, and nicer food at that!”
Catherine agreed by saying “I prefer to have food in my cupboard, rather than smokes in my pocket.”
“We’re also planning to get our teeth cleaned to remove the cigarette stains,” she added with excitement.
Another highlight for Sharon since stopping was that she was able to buy a puppy, something she’s been wanting to do for a long time. “When I gave up, I could afford to have a dog with the money I was saving from not smoking anymore. I really love animals, so it was a motivating reward for me.”
Reflecting on the success of their journey to stop smoking, support comes through as a strong theme.
“Catherine and I are really good at supporting each other, we’re like best friends,” said Sharon, with Catherine agreeing and adding, “You don’t need cigarettes for stressful moments, you just need your own self encouragement, and whānau support.”
“Oh, and Carlene is the best quit coach; she’s the bomb and has really good positive vibes!” she laughed.