My name's Nicola and I smoked for nearly 40 years. I had never really considered quitting before, mainly because all the health professionals say you should and I've never liked being told what to do! For years I smoked about four packs a week, but things began to change when I recently started working from home. Because my time was my own, I gradually started getting through more and more cigarettes, and before I knew it I was a 20-a-day smoker.
My Road to Damascus was when I joined a local poker club. Nearly everyone there smokes, and one day I suddenly became very aware of the six overflowing ashtrays in use at my table. It was horrible, and I decided then and there that I would give up smoking.
That was four weeks ago and I haven't looked back since. I joined a gym about a week after I stopped smoking, and could manage 7 minutes on the treadmill without a break. Now I can do 20 minutes, followed by 10 on the rowing machine! I have had a couple of lapses, but nothing I'm too concerned about.
I work as a journalist, and Bedfont have lent me one of the piCO+™ Smokerlyzer® monitors that are used by the NHS. Whenever I've felt the need for a cigarette, I've tested myself with the monitor straight away. Seeing my reading up in the red zone again makes me remember why I decided to quit.
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