A hospital staff member is urging smokers to put a full stop to smoking following his own experience of quitting smoking six months ago.
Jim Woods, 51, picked up the habit of smoking at the age of 16 when he was encouraged by his friends to try smoking.
He said: “I started smoking in my last year of secondary school, aged 16. Very much a case of peer pressure and trying to fit in with the ‘crowd’.”
An occasional cigarette with friends quickly turned into something which spiralled out of control as Jim was smoking 20 cigarettes on average each day.
Although he did decide to stop smoking often, it was hard for Jim to find the right motivation.
Jim, who works as a health advisor and as a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added:
Although I was not enjoying food anymore as I was losing my sense of taste and had deteriorating health due to constant smoking, I struggled to quit smoking. I always had the intention to stop but always fell short as smoking is really hard to give up.”
However, a few months back, Jim and his partner had an impromptu conversation to check how much money they could save if they ever decided to stop smoking.
What began as an informal conversation quickly grew into something serious as the couple compiled a spreadsheet to measure how much smoking actually cost.
The final results were shocking as Jim and his partner were surprised with how much money they were wasting down the drain while smoking every day.
He said: “My partner and I were smoking 20 a day for £15-16 a pack as I always preferred a particular brand and these were more expensive than others. I sat down with my partner and opened a spreadsheet to work out how much it was costing us per day, per week, per month and more. We then converted this to things that we wanted or needed and the findings were startling.”
According to their spreadsheet, with the amount of money they were spending on smoking, the couple could have afforded these activities instead:
VIP concert tickets = 10 days
New bed = two weeks
New fridge freezer = one month
Five-star Caribbean cruise = one year
That was the tipping point for Jim and his partner as they both decided instantly to quit smoking to save money and more importantly, for their health.
They both referred themselves to the stop smoking service in Middlesbrough, where they were offered a range of free, friendly and confidential support to help with their addiction.
Jim said: “We were treated together and had a chance to have joint consultations during giving up which was really useful for us both”
As a result, they both have quit smoking and have been leading a smoke-free life for the past six months.
Jim is now sharing his life story with his colleagues and is hoping to spread awareness about the benefits of quitting smoking.
He added: “Quitting smoking has had a major positive impact on my life. There are countless benefits to stopping smoking but personally for me, it has been more money, better health, more money, my sense of smell has improved, and did I mention more money?
“I wish I had this support 25 years ago. I have calculated our smoking costs over the last 25 years and we could have paid off a mortgage on a really nice house instead of effectively burning £200,000.
“You could be living in your own four-bedroom house in 25 years with all the money you will otherwise just burn.”
Tobacco dependency treatment services lead Maria Taylor said: “After the age of 35, smokers lose a day of life for every four days of smoking. It’s never too late to quit. Everyone can find a reason why their life would be better without smoking – improved health, reduced risk of heart disease, dementia, breathing problems and saving money.
“If you are an inpatient, contact our team or if you are a member of staff like Jim, contact the community smoking cessation team for more advice. Set a quit date today and you could be smoke free in 2025.”
Make a quit attempt today
You can make a fresh quit attempt today by visiting the Fresh website or visit the NHS inform website to calculate your savings once you quit smoking.