Quitting time for Ayrshire Post's Julie

Aug 15 2008

The Post’s Julie Simpson wants to quit smoking after 25 years. She’s agreed to write a diary of her progress for the next four weeks.

WHEN my wee boy runs around the park, I want to be fit and healthy enough to do it with him.

Callum, my youngest, is only four years old and has his whole life in front of him.

I don’t want to be wheezing and out of breath when he wants to do things with me.

But if I continue smoking, I’m scared that’s the person I’ll become.

That’s why I’ve decided to kick my 25-year habit, which started as something casual but gradually became much more.

Smoking is a crutch. It’s a drug that only smokers themselves can understand.

I’ve tried stopping before and have managed it a number of times, like when I was pregnant with my three kids.

But as soon as they were born, I was straight back.

I started purely for socialising. But I gradually went from a couple a day to 10. The more I smoked, the more I needed.

I’m now on at least 15 a day and spending more than £1500 a year on my habit.

That money could be used to take us on a really nice holiday and of course it crosses my mind that it’s literally going up in smoke.

But the main reason I want to give up is for my health.

The older I get, and the more years I’m a smoker, the more I worry about my future.

So I’ve thrown away all my lighters and hidden the ashtrays.

Next I’ll be getting the patches and signing up to the Fresh Air-shire scheme that’s designed to help people like me.

I’m determined to stop, and even though it won’t be easy, I know I have to do it.