Maddie Stark, Senior Training Officer, Edinburgh

After starting to smoke aged 11, Maddie says finding out why she smoked helped her quit.

Maddie’s first cigarette was stolen from her mum when she was 11.  “She smoked these long white cigarettes with a gold band and I thought they were really elegant. I also used to think the kids at school who smoked were cool and wanted to be like them.” Nineteen years later Maddie (38) was smoking 10-20 a day when a number of factors over the course of a year led her to quitting.

“My friend’s dad died of lung cancer. He didn’t smoke, but as a publican had worked in a smoky environment and that made me think much more about second-hand smoke. Then my niece was born and although I didn’t smoke around her I was much more aware of the impact of my smoking on her – the fact that my clothes, hands and breath all smelt of smoke when I held her. I then saw an NHS TV advert for giving up which focused on smoking and its impact on your heart which really struck a chord with me. In the same year I also turned 30 which was a big deal for me. I felt smoking was part of my past not my future. These things together made me quit on New Year’s Day 2003.

“My tactic was to cut down to quit. I made the first cigarette of the day later and later till I eventually got to 9pm at night and then fully quit. I found it hard as smoking had been a part of my life for so long – all my adult life. I hid behind cigarettes so it felt like being a different person. I felt like I had lost a limb as I had been so used to having a cigarette in my hand.

“I got depressed and had mood swings and replaced cigarettes with food and drink but I became really aware of that so knew that had to change too. I realised I was using cigarettes to cope and to relax. It helped working out why and when I smoked and I realised that I had to change habits of a lifetime. The whole process took about six months but it has helped me stay quit.”

Maddie said the best thing about giving up is that she no longer smells and neither does her house and that friends have commented on that positive difference. She says she can also taste and smell things better – for the first time in her life. “I also don’t feel tied to cigarettes anymore and that is a great feeling.”

Maddie says when she gave up there weren’t stop-smoking support groups but would tell friends wanting to quit now to access these free services or see their GP. She also says that her main advice to smokers trying to quit is to find out why you smoke in the first place as that can help smokers to stay stopped.

“No-one loves smoking, for me I loved what I thought was the glamour of it. I also used it to cope but I found new ways of coping. Finding out why you smoke can definitely help you quit.”

What do friends and family say?

“My family were great and really supportive but my mum was a bit put-out because we had had smoking in common and it was our time together. However we worked that out, and looked for different ways to spend our time. She has also now quit.”

Friend Jillian on Maddie quitting: "It took a lot of will power and courage for Maddie to take the initial step to quit. I'm very proud that she is still a non-smoker after several years and has successfully encouraged some of her family and friends to follow her example."