Trevor was 11 years old when he started sneaking cigarettes from his older brother as all his friends smoked. When he got his pocket money, he could by 5 Woodbine cigarettes from the shopkeeper, who did not think there was anything wrong selling tobacco to youngsters. When Trevor was 17, he started buying cigarettes and smoked ‘full time’. He says he did stop smoking in his 20s for ten years but started again at 32 when his Dad had a stroke (at 56 years old and a heavy smoker). His Dad lost his ability to speak. However, Trevor says he could always manage to communicate when he wanted a ‘cig’. The hospital matron would take his Dad to smoke to the ‘smoke room’, which was based on the ward.
Trevor has had surgery for a blocked artery in his neck and has suffered nerve damage paralysis. He has been unable to eat, chew or swallow solids and has been ‘peg fed’ for over a year. He is now hoping to start on soft foods and hopes to start tasting flavours.
Trevor says … ‘How times had changed from when I was a lad’ when I was admitted into the hospital, there were no smoke rooms, the ward staff put me an NRT patch on daily to reduce my cravings, the health dangers of tobacco smoke were highlighted, and I was encouraged to remain quit.
Trevor is now SMOKE-FREE and will proudly show his certificate to family members, especially his grandchildren, who encourage him to quit daily. He says he could not have done it without accessing regular appointments and having advice and support from our Stop Smoking Service.
