Lessons Learned After Quitting Smoking

My Health Scare

Lessons learned after quitting smoking? A few, but first, let me tell you a story….

I’m from an age where practically everyone smoked. Slowly, over time, more and more people I knew quit. I felt like the last man standing. An act of rebel defiance.

Smoking In A Bar In Amsterdam, May 2013

The truth is quitting was never an option. I loved smoking far too much for that kind of nonsense. Happy puffing away for the rest of my life. Then something life-changing happened…

Isn’t it always this way in life? Things take an unexpected turn for the worse when you least expect it.

It was a mundane, normal Friday at work, hurtling towards the end of the week. I popped outside for some fresh air. Then something took hold. I couldn’t breathe properly. I’d never experienced this kind of thing in my life.

Where it all began in March 2023.

It was terrifying—truly terrifying. My life flashed before me. I soldiered on being the trooper I am, but I knew something was clearly wrong.

Things didn’t improve over the next couple of weeks. All sorts of outcomes were racing around my mind. Smoking was hurting my lungs; this had never happened before. A pleasurable habit had become a hindrance. I continued to puff away regardless. You don’t eradicate a forty-plus-year addiction just like that!

Seeking Help

Finally, I decided to seek help. One Livi conversation with a doctor later, I was summoned to Manchester Royal Infirmary for tests.

Spending the day in the hospital gives you plenty of time to think. Too much time. I convinced myself I’d got lung cancer and was going to get a terminal diagnosis. I was pushed and prodded, injected and bits taped to my body. All sorts of permutations were racing around. I was expecting bad news, at the very least.

I convinced myself the habit was biting back and haunting. My slapdash attitude towards the damage smoking causes was going to kill me. And you know what? I was telling myself I deserved this.

After eight hours of testing and waiting, a nice chap with a stethoscope informed me nothing was wrong. In many ways, disappointment reigned over me as I geared myself up for bad news all frigging day! The reality was I was happy and relieved. I couldn’t wait to light up as I walked to the car.

Off Sick, Still Puffing!

I’d phoned in sick from work for the rest of the week, so I figured I’d put my feet up and be right as rain in a few days. Only I wasn’t. Come Friday, I still struggled to breathe and showed no signs of improvement. Another call to the doctor.

She phoned me and wanted to see me right away. I trundled down, was given a course of steroids, a sick note for a week and was summoned to go back on Monday. When I returned, I received words piercing my persona’s very heart.

“I think you have COPD; you have to give up smoking.”

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is very common in smokers. I’d heard it in passing but didn’t think too much of it. After reading up on the matter, I’d become truly petrified. It means your lungs are fucked, and whilst it is a condition you can live with, it will never be cured.

Better than having terminal lung cancer, I figured.

The Last Cigarette

En route to see Dr Clifford that spring Monday morning, I smoked what was to be my last cigarette. March 26, 2023. I started in November 1981. A lifetime of cigarette abuse.

Those words regarding quitting rung straight through. I decided to stop there and then. I was prescribed nicotine patches. You can get vapes on the NHS, but the doctor didn’t want me inhaling any more poison. Fair point.

That day, I never intended to quit for good. But, as the day progressed, I started thinking more and more. I couldn’t get those words out of my head. Deep down, I knew I’d smoked my last.

I admitted to myself I’d stopped enjoying smoking. Since the breathing problems, smoking had become a pain, not a pleasure. Each cigarette was piercing my lungs.

The days turned to weeks, the weeks turned into months, and I never went back to smoking. I seriously thought I would have a cheeky one, but the turn of events was always on my mind. I knew there were lessons learned after quitting smoking, but no way could I be sure what those lessons are!

Surely, when sozzled with alcohol, I’ll crack. On holiday in Tunisia last August, I convinced myself I was going to crack. But never did.

I could never envisage life without cigarettes, and now I cannot envisage life with cigarettes.

Lessons Learned

• Life changes only for the better.
• It’s a cliche, but it’s incredible how much life improves without cigarettes—breathing better, smelling better, tasting better.
• Quitting gives you an enormous amount of self-belief. If you can quit smoking, then anything is possible. It became the springboard for finally attempting to lose weight for good.
• Life should be treasured and never taken for granted.
• Circumstances can change in a heartbeat.
• People respect you a heck of a lot more.
• You realise how disgusting the habit is. I know that’s a bit ex-smoker preachy, but trust me, it is disgusting! I will add I don’t have a problem at all with people smoking near me.

I had waited 18 months before getting my lungs checked for COPD. I’m pleased to report no lung damage; they’re perfectly normal. I’ve had a close shave. That was the scare I needed to kick the habit.

The most valuable lesson learned after quitting is to savour every day and moment and take nothing for granted.