By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
A woman who smoked cigarettes since the age of 13 says she was able to taste some foods properly for the first time after a new Nottingham service helped her quit.
Sue Lees, now 55, said she had been spending more than £25 on up to 60 cigarettes every day.
However, she last had a cigarette six months ago after getting help from a service called Stub It!.
The service is led by the Nottingham City GP Alliance and commissioned by Nottingham City Council.
Through the service Ms Lees, of Long Eaton, was able to access free nicotine patches and lozenges, as well as an on-call advisor who she would speak to when in need of urgent support amid what she described as a “craving”.
“I was chain smoking,” she said.
“My breathing was terrible. Smoking is a really bad habit so I found it really, really hard.
“But once I had stopped the first thing I noticed was the taste of food.
“It was really weird. I had a Greggs and the taste was unbelievable. Because I had smoked for so long I just thought it was normal.
“I could not have stopped without the service.”
Ms Lees says she started smoking at the age of 13 due to peer pressure at school.
She said her habit persisted after an accident when she was 17, when she was hit by a car while riding a motorbike, leaving her disabled.
Since 2018, the service has supported more than 4,000 patients, with almost 40 per cent of them going on to quit smoking.
In Nottingham around 21.2 per cent of adults are smokers, which is almost double the national average of 12.7 per cent.
The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Smoking and Tobacco Alliance is now urging people to stop smoking as part of a national campaign called ‘Stoptober 2023’.
The Alliance was formed earlier this year.
It comes as the Conservative Government, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, plans to phase out the legal sale of cigarettes.
If the policy gets the backing of MPs, the age at which people can buy tobacco products, which is currently 18, will increase by a year every year.
It would mean children 14 and under would never be able to purchase a cigarette.
However, Ms Lees says she fears forcing people to stop smoking may not work as well as if people have a choice, like herself.
“It is better if you stop smoking, but I do not think anyone has the right to force anyone to stop,” she said.
“I don’t think it will work. I did it with help, but I chose to stop myself. I think it could lead to people selling them illegally, like drugs.
“It could cause more crime.”
Cllr Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health at Nottingham City Council, said: “Stopping smoking is not just a personal journey, it is a city-wide commitment.
“Our aim is to help people to quit smoking for good through a range of methods that are tailored to each individual.
“The Alliance stands together to create a healthier, smoke-free future for ourselves and generations to come.
“It is committed to tackling the wider causes of tobacco-related inequalities, such as reducing exposure to second-hand smoke and access to illegal tobacco, which will protect our young people and continue to de-normalise tobacco in society.”
On announcing the policy earlier this month, Mr Sunak pointed out “there is no safe level of smoking”.
He added: ‘”Smoking is unequivocally the single biggest preventable cause of death, disability and illness in our society.
“Everyone recognises this measure will be the single biggest intervention in public health in a generation. That’s why I believe it’s the right thing to do.”
