You have been smoking since when?
Yeah since I was about 16. I only smoke about eight a day now. But I do want to pack up altogether [cough].
You used to smoke more than eight before?
I probably did, probably about 10 or might even have been 15. I went for an acupuncture, I’ve had acupuncture done three times. The second time I didn’t smoke for a whole, nearly a fortnight. I didn’t even fancy one and I thought lovely, I’ve cracked it. And then all of a sudden I was gasping for one and I thought well one won’t hurt. That was the start.
So you would like to stop?
Oh I would give anyone £1000 if they’d get me to, could help me to stop.
I’ve been twice to the meetings they used to have, you know, the National Health got it up and I’ve had patches. I even had that last one that a lot of people, made them ill. Well it, they didn’t agree with me either. But I really would. You know the specialist said I’ve got to pack up so I’ve got to pack up [laugh].
So for how long have you been trying to give up?
Really the, about twenty odd years I’ve been trying, [pause] twenty odd years I’ve been trying to pack up.
But do you think that the smoking damaged your bones?
Personally no. I mean I’m not an expert so I don’t know but I think a lot of pills and tablets don’t do you any good. You, I think you can take too many of them.
In medications you mean?
Yeah. And most of the antibiotics I’ve been in the last few years haven’t agreed with me anyway, give me side effects.
So just last question about smoking why do you want to give up smoking? Why have you been trying for the last 20 years?
Well two reasons. The main one is my health and the second one is the cost.
So you know that smoking is damaging your health?
Yeah. I, I don’t believe a lot of that, what they say but I, it probably does do a lot of harm. I mean the people that come up to me, you know, and I’ve said I’m trying to pack up. They said, “Oh my sister died of cancer and she’s never smoked”. And most of the people I know that’s got breast cancer they’ve never smoked. So [ah] but I, I agree that it doesn’t do you any good.
And I would like to pack up and I think if I’d have packed up when I first tried to pack up what would my health be like now?
And now you need, you need to use oxygen every day?
Most evenings yeah, every evening I don’t go to bed without being on it for half an hour.
And what has the doctor said about your lungs, the condition of your lungs?
Well he said if I don’t pack up. You would think I’d, at least with, make me stop. It’s what I’ve had a go at myself about. And he said, “It’s going to be terrible for you. You won’t be able to swallow, you won’t be able to do nothing. It’s terrible.” He said, “You must pack up”. And he said, I went last week over to [hospital] and he was, he said, “You’ve got to pack up”.
Have you asked him, your consultant for help?
He did say to me, not this time the time before, he said, “Would you like me to get someone to come and talk to you?” But I, I thought he’d frightened me enough to pack up. You see I’ve got no will power.
Who, who …
I mean and a lot of people say, “Oh I packed up and I didn’t miss it”. I’d love that to happen to me but I. In the morning I think, I’m not going to have a cigarette. As soon as I get a cup of tea or cup of coffee. It’s like if I go to visit anyone in their house they don’t smoke they’ll say “Have a cup of tea”. I’ll say no thanks. You know I won’t have one because I know that I, it’s a natural thing to me to have a smoke at the same time.
Has the consultant or your GP said anything about smoking affecting your bones? Have they given you that message?
No it’s mainly my lungs that they’ve said.
And your lungs are?
They’re finished. He (consultant) was so desperate for me to pack up he said, “Would you like me to send someone”? Well it did frighten me what he was saying to me, what was going to happen to me. I thought any normal person would have stopped.
So would you accept his offer of help by talking to this person?
Probably but I personally think nothing is going to help me. I, because I’ve tried so many thing, paid so much money to try and stop: must be £200 or £300 I’ve paid out to try and stop with the acupuncture and the hypnotists.
