Find your Will Power this Stoptober with Livewell

Wed 3 Oct 2018

Improving his mental health and seeing his teenage daughters grow up were the main reasons, Ade Fleet from Borrowash took action after 21 years of smoking up to 20 cigarettes a day.

Ade (41) said:  “I was completely dependent on smoking and it was making me feel constantly on edge.  Work pressures saw my habit double to smoking 20 cigarettes a day and my nerves were all over the place.   It took me four cigarettes to start functioning in a morning.  I’d tried countless times to quit but always ended up relapsing, I just didn’t know how to do it.”

He joined Livewell Derby’s free stop smoking service during Stoptober 2017 and started seeing expert advisor, Antony every fortnight at Derby Arena.

No magic answer but plenty of support

“I hoped Livewell could give me a magic formula but I soon realised this doesn’t exist and that your own motivation is key to being successful.  My advisor, Antony offered lots of practical advice, free Nicotine Replacement Therapy patches, which saved me around £180 and the opportunity to drop-in every fortnight for support and carbon monoxide readings.  Seeing my dangerously high CO levels reduce to that of a non-smoker was a fantastic start and being accountable to Antony and my family kept me going, I didn’t want to let any of them down.”

12 months on and Ade is delighted to have achieved his dream of being smoke free for a year and is backing Public Health England’s Stoptober initiative to encourage smokers to get through the 28 day challenge and quit for good.

Life is so much different now

Talking about how life is different for him now, Ade said: “I have more energy, my teeth are whiter and I feel mentally good – much more calm and relaxed.  Even my wife has noticed an improvement to my complexion.  I feel I’m a positive role model to my daughters and have more time to do other things, particularly with my family – it’s amazing how much time smoking was taking out of my day.  I’ve noticed a difference in my fitness too.  It’s great to climb hills on my bike without getting out of breath.”

“If I can do it, then so can anyone.  The key is to not stop trying.”

The father of two is now hoping his success will inspire other smokers in Derby to join the Livewell service to get the support they need to take on the Stoptober challenge.

Ade is proudly fronting Livewell’s Will Power campaign which aims to encourage all smokers, including those who have previously relapsed, to find their inner will power with Livewell’s support.  The service will roll out the campaign during Stoptober and at other key times to engage with the 18% of Derby’s population that smokes (44,775 people aged 15 plus).

Evidence shows that people are five times more likely to quit using a specialist service like Livewell than going it alone and Stoptober is a great way for people to quit together to boost their chances of successfully quitting.

Livewell Derby offers 12 months free support and stop smoking treatments to people registered to a Derby GP practice.  Apply and book your first appointment here or call the customer team on 01332 641254.  Watch Ade's inspirational story here.

All three of Derby Active's facilities, Derby Arena, Springwood Leisure Centre, and Queen's Leisure Centre offer first appointments and stop smoking drop-ins.