After suffering a heart attack, Gary knew he needed to make some serious lifestyle changes. He was advised to eat more healthily, cut down on alcohol, and stop smoking - and he decided it was time to take action and reached out to Yorkshire Smokefree Barnsley.
Although Gary had thought about quitting smoking before, the fear of struggling with cravings had always put him off trying. However, once he made the decision to quit, he was genuinely surprised by how much easier it felt than he had expected.
Gary said that before his first appointment, he believed he would be successful because of his health concerns, although he expected quitting to be much harder than it actually turned out to be.
To support his quit attempt, Gary initially used nicotine patches before moving on to a low nicotine-content vape. He found both extremely helpful, although he only needed to use the patches for a short period of time.
For Gary, the fear and worry caused by his heart attack became the biggest motivation to stay smokefree. He explained that now it feels like he is starting a completely new chapter in his life.
Since quitting smoking, Gary has noticed huge improvements in both his health and fitness. He says his sense of smell and taste have improved, even if he jokes that he is no longer allowed to enjoy unhealthy foods like pizzas and burgers.
Determined to improve his health further, Gary now regularly does cardio and physiotherapy exercises and has even set up his own home gym, complete with a rowing machine, air bike, and weights. He is also paying much closer attention to his diet and overall wellbeing.
Gary has also noticed a major difference in his physical fitness. He explained that he used to become out of breath simply cutting the grass on his large amount of land, but now he can manage it without struggling. Hills that he once found difficult are now much easier, and he says he can “practically jog up them.”
Throughout his quit journey, Gary found the support and advice from the Yorkshire Smokefree service extremely valuable. Alongside the nicotine replacement support, he described the service as “brilliant” and said the encouragement he received made a real difference.
Looking back on his journey, Gary has a clear message for anyone considering quitting smoking:
“Stopping smoking is well worth doing and any input into your health has to be good. Just go for it.”
