To tie in with this year’s theme for No Smoking Day – ‘Proud to be a Quitter’ which aims to draw on inspirational stories of ex-smokers to highlight the life-changing benefits of quitting – the Public Health Directorate’s Quit4You team ran a competition for quitters.
Island residents who had quit smoking and were ‘proud to be a quitter’ were asked to submit their inspirational story.
Two winners were chosen and recently received their certificates from the Quit4You team. Sandra Smith was awarded first prize of £50 in vouchers, with Mary Hatcher receiving second prize, £20 in vouchers.
Sandra Smith, who won first prize, said:
'I’m a happily married 55 year old mum-of-three. I had been quite a heavy smoker for some years. I tried giving up a number of times without success. After a short stay in hospital, I got my head together and went to Quit4You. With a lot of help and good listening, I am now a quitter. I have been patch, mouth-strip and ‘E-lite’ free since April 2014. My message to everyone is don’t be afraid to ask for help and don’t leave it too late.'
Mary Hatcher, who won second prize, said:
'Unfortunately like many teenage girls I started smoking to fit in and continued to smoke into my 20’s when I moved to the Isle of Man. The outdoor attractions of the Island started to draw me in, and in a bid to lose weight and change my lifestyle I started running and mountain biking. I was still smoking but I began to finally realise that my health was suffering – I was unable to breathe heavily and struggled during hard exercise. What would I rather do? I would rather be able to run and ride up hills so I decided to stop smoking.
'I made my choice and my goal was to be healthier, fitter and stronger. So I simply just stopped smoking. It was hard at times but I was determined and knew the benefits would far outweigh the struggle. My mum died when I was 32, just two months after I had stopped smoking – for many people this would be enough to start smoking again, for some a hard day at work is enough, but I had made my decision and was starting to feel better for having quit so I got through that period without cigarettes and with running. I have never looked back.
'Exercise, good health and how alive this made me feel was reason enough. I ended up running the fells, half marathons, a full marathon for my fortieth birthday and represented the Island in 2011 in Road Cycling at the Island Games when I was 42 – good achievements for an ex-smoker.'
