Our Health Trainers are changing people’s lives, but don’t just take our word for it.
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Stop smoking stories
Read the following stories about how Health Trainers helped people to quit smoking:
Kevin's story
Kevin stopped smoking after 50 years by switching to menthol e-cigarettes with the support of York Health Trainers, and feels proud of what he’s achieved for himself, and for his children and grandson.
He made the change with the help of health trainer Fiona, who talked to him at his first meeting at Clifton Children’s Centre about the effect smoking was having on his body.
A simple breath test found the levels of Carbon Monoxide in his blood were high.
“Fiona explained a lot of things that a lot of people were telling me, but it took someone to sit down and explain and show me what my Carbon Monoxide levels were – it was an eye-opener and was the kick up the backside I needed!” said Kevin.
Fiona then explained the different nicotine replacement therapy options on offer.
“She gave me the option of using them all, and I used the patch for a couple of days, but the vape is the one I’ve taken to, it’s really good. I received all the equipment on the Saturday morning, and by Saturday dinner time I’d stopped smoking! I’ve never looked back and never had a cigarette since.
Fiona was absolutely fantastic, she was understanding, she knew exactly what was needed, she kept in touch to ask how I was doing - it’s a brilliant service.
Kevin, 68, who is from Rawcliffe and is a self-employed painter and decorator who often works at York Minster, said he felt lot better mentally and physically since giving up and he is now able to go ahead and have an operation on his nose.
Most importantly though, he feels a lot better being with his grandson.
“We didn’t want the contamination of my smoking around him before, so being able to stop and go on the vape has meant it’s been brilliant to be able to cuddle him!” he said.
Lucy's story
New mum Lucy gave birth at full term to a 7lb 14oz healthy baby girl, Violet, after quitting smoking with the health trainers.
She stopped smoking a week after her first health trainer appointment early in her pregnancy, and received free nicotine gum and patches as well as one-to-one support sessions from health trainer Beth.
Lucy, from Acomb, took part in our smoking in pregnancy incentive scheme and received £170 in shopping vouchers, which awarded every few weeks after stopping.
She spent hers on clothes for Violet, with a treat for herself after her final appointment when Violet was 12 weeks old.
Lucy said:
I wanted to quit to make sure my baby was healthy and would definitely recommend this scheme, you get so much support and help and it makes you want to quit even more.
“I feel a lot healthier, I’m not coughing as much and am breathing better, and I feel like I can handle stress a lot better as I’m not relying on smoking.”
Michaela's story
When Michaela successfully stopped smoking after 41 years with the support of the health trainers, she finally admitted to her husband she’d lied to him about a previous attempt - and found he knew anyway.
Michaela, from Tang Hall, who started smoking at 14, said she couldn’t believe she’d become a non-smoker and said in the end she just realised she wasn’t enjoying it any more.
Michaela said:
It was more habit than wanting a cigarette, I’d get in the car I’d light a cigarette, I’d have something to eat, I’d light a cigarette, I’d get up on a morning, make a coffee, go outside, coffee and a cigarette, and I just wasn’t enjoying it any more.
Michaela contacted the service and got an appointment quickly. She used free nicotine patches and a spray with support from health trainer Sarah.
She said the support and the accountability of the regular breath tests to measure carbon monoxide in her blood both helped. Like many smokers, she previously just thought of carbon monoxide as a gas to beware of in the home.
Now her sense of taste has improved hugely, she feels healthier, and she is saving money.
Michaela said: “I’ve actually admitted this time to my husband this time that last time I hadn’t stopped smoking, and he was like “I know” and I said “What do you mean you know?” and he said “I could smell it on you”. So I thought I was doing really well, doing it all in secret and he knew all along!
And for every day she’s not smoking, her husband is putting a pound in a jar for Michaela to spend at the end of her first year as a non-smoker.
Mick's story
Mick says giving up smoking with the support of York Health Trainers has given him his confidence back, as well as making him feel healthier and better off.
A few months ago he was very anxious after experiencing three blackout episodes, one while out in a pub, and having to spend a night in hospital.
He was worried about going out of the house, and about his heart, following a triple heart bypass operation in August 2012.
But since giving up smoking and switching to vapes, with the support of health trainer Emma in regular sessions at Energise Leisure Centre, he feels so much better.
“I’ve had no blackouts, I’m not coughing and I’ve started going out again,” said Mick, who is now retired after a 22-year career in the Army, and then working at Rowntrees (now Nestle).
“I like to get in the garden and have made trips out to buy plants. I’ve saved so much money I’ve bought myself an air fryer and am trying out new healthy recipes and I’ve been back to the pub.
It’s given me my confidence back meeting people, thanks to Emma.
“When I first came here I was completely stressed.”
Mick, from Acomb, had been smoking since 1972 and had tried giving up smoking before, but said switching to vapes had worked much better for him this time.
“When you’re smoking moving hands backwards and forwards when vaping doing the same thing,” he said.
“But where a cigarette lasts three to four minutes, with vapes you just need one or two puffs and that’s it.”
Mick M's story
Mick M gave up smoking after 50 years with the support of health trainer Nadia and is now nearly £100 a week better off.
Mick M, 71, from Tang Hall, had to retire from his job as a taxi driver after suffering a heart attack in 2021 and said his mum had died 8 years earlier from lung cancer in 2013.
But he confessed it was rising cost of smoking that finally prompted him to seek help – he was spending £93 a week on cigarettes.
Mick M said:
I had to retire from work so I was living on benefits and just my state pension, so it was very expensive to carry on smoking. It should have been my health that made me stop smoking, but it was the financial side of it, it was just so expensive.
Mick gave up by using free patches and a mouth spray and said Nadia’s support was also crucial: “She was here to help not to judge, and she supports you all the way”.
And what was Mick’s advice to any other smokers thinking of quitting?
“Definitely try it, without a doubt, 100 per cent, it might not work for you but what have you got to lose? Nothing. It’s a free thing to do. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain, so give it a go! If it works it works, if it doesn’t, at least you’ve tried!”
Rose's story
Rose has seen her health improve dramatically since giving up smoking with York Health Trainers at her local community centre.
She quit after 58 years by using nicotine chewing gum, supported by health trainer Scott at The Place hub in Chapelfields.
Doctors told Rose she needed to give up after a second admission to hospital with pneumonia and as an asthmatic she knew she needed to do something.
Scott tested her carbon monoxide levels and found they were high and she opted to try chewing gum as her husband had used it successfully.
“I’d tried it before but I just needed more encouragement and Scott does give you encouragement,” she said.
It didn’t take long in the end and I feel much better in myself. I feel healthier, I haven’t had any asthma attacks since I stopped and I’m not going to go back to smoking again
Rose, who started smoking when she was 16, said one of the challenges was finding something to steady her hands, and enjoys ‘diamond art’ at weekly art and craft sessions at The Place to keep her hands busy.
“I’m making a mobile, you can hang it outside and it can become a suncatcher – I like doing art and craft here,” she said.
Teresa's story
Teresa has rediscovered her sense of taste now she has given up smoking after 44 years.
She quit using patches and vapes with the support of health trainer, Saffron.
“I picked up a postcard in my local pharmacy after I’d had a health scare, scanned the QR code and filled in the questionnaire on my phone,” she said.
“A lady rang me back straight away to tell me about the service and a couple of weeks later Saffron rang and I went to see her for my first visit at West Offices.”
Teresa said she was “horrified” the first time she blew into the carbon monoxide monitor and saw how high her levels were, but on her second visit she had already got the reading down to a 4 (equivalent to a non-smoker).
I used to smoke 20 a day and I feel so much better. I’m a cleaner so I’m up and down stairs carrying hoovers and it’s much easier.
“My taste buds have gone mad, everything tastes a lot better – at the moment I’m enjoying the flavours of ice cream, and coffee and cake.”
Teresa, from Clementhorpe, said she had also saved nearly £600 in the first six weeks since she’d stopped smoking, which she hoped to save up to pay for holidays.
“Saffron has been brilliant, from that first initial visit when she went through everything with me, for someone to go through it with you, I don’t think I would have been able to do it without the service.”
Feeling healthier stories
Read the following stories about how Health Trainers helped people to feel healthier:
If you think we could help you to feel happier and healthier by making health or lifestyle changes, our health professionals are encouraging you to get in touch and sign up today!
Wendy's Story
Retired carer Wendy changed her eating habits for good thanks to support from the health trainer team, following a diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Wendy first noticed trouble with her back when she was working at an Acomb store, which involved lots of bending and lifting.
Scans showed she had fractures in her vertebrae and that she had osteoporosis, which she now has medication for.
She discovered the health trainer service and the way they help people to lose weight and get more active, at a musculoskeletal appointment and information event at York Community Stadium.
Wendy was soon signed up with health trainer Emma who she saw at regular sessions at Energise in Acomb.
She said: “I felt like I’d known her forever and could tell her anything – she was so encouraging but not judgemental and always made me feel so positive about myself. At the back of my mind I knew certain things I should be doing, I just needed a push and she encouraged me.”
Making small changes meant that Wendy lost half a stone in the first few weeks. She started snacking on nuts and seeds instead of sweet treats, she stopped having a biscuit or cake after a meal and generally watched more carefully what she ate. She also does pilates and tries to get out for a walk every day.
If I go out maybe I’ll share a course or don’t eat all the food on my plate and wrap it up and take it home.
“I feel better in myself, far better than I was. I’m determined to carry on - this is my life now. I knew what I needed to do, but I needed more detail and more information on how to do it – now I’m much more aware of what I’m putting into my body.”
Jocelyn's Story
New mum Jocelyn said she felt happier and stronger after being supported to make changes to her lifestyle by health trainer Saffron.
Jocelyn came to the service a few months after having a baby boy, and found that walking more, tracking her exercise and thinking more about her diet, all helped.
She said: Being with the health trainer has helped me to be more careful about what foods I eat without being stressed about it and that has helped me to feel better.
“Maybe my weight hasn’t been the best going down but I feel better in my body, I have more mobility and more energy and my clothes fit better, and I’m stronger, so just happy overall, which is the most important thing.”
Her aim was to take care of herself better but to balance any changes with the rest of her life.
The health trainer helps you to have a structured system and plan that you co-create that is something achievable and not something scary like when you go into a gym or something!
“I have seen changes from my own effort but as well because I’ve had the support of my health trainer who has made me feel comfortable to taking these steps without feeling pressured.”
Steve's Story
Steve tried range of different diet plans before changing his lifestyle and losing a stone in weight with the support of York Health Trainers.
He was referred to the team by his GP after visit about his blood pressure, and after initial appointments with health trainer Saffron, she referred him for a free 12-week membership of Slimming World. He continued to see Saffron for regular appointments alongside this.
Steve found the structure of a diet plan and regular weigh-ins suited him. With the encouragement of Saffron, he also joined a gym, something he had been reluctant to do in the past, and also uses exercise equipment at home.
The combination of a change in diet and regular exercise helped him lose a stone, lowered his blood pressure and relieved pain he was experiencing in his knee.
A self-confessed chocaholic, Steve said he had switched to a treat of two pieces of dark chocolate a day and found the Slimming World recipes worked for him and that he was able to eat foods he liked like bacon, potatoes and eggs. He also achieved “Slimmer of the Week” three times!
Steve said: “Saffron as a support has been fantastic - if somebody’s going out of their way to help you, you’ve got to try and make an effort.
There were times when I wasn’t making an effort but that was before I was getting any help, I didn’t know where to get the help. It sounds daft but I didn’t know how to approach my food, and now I do! And that’s because of the help I’ve had from my doctor, from Saffron and from Slimming World.
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