Maggie, who lives in Supported Living in South London, had been smoking 70-80 cigarettes daily for over 50 years. This was having a serious impact on her health, resulting in chest infections, asthma, and painful chesty coughing. She was also spending around £360 per month on buying the cigarettes, and her money was draining away.
Support team members had tried everything they could to help Maggie quit smoking, including taking her to clinics, constant observation and encouragement, but it was a tough challenge. However, the team eventually managed to space out timings of access to Maggie’s cigarettes, so she was only able to have them once every two hours. This was successful, and Maggie reduced the number from 80 cigarettes per day, down to 20.
A visitor to the home introduced Maggie to vaping, which inspired her to try out this option. Ishamel, the service manager, said “After a long conversation with Maggie, and giving her lots of encouragement to stop smoking, we agreed that we’d take her into town, to visit a vaping shop, as this is what she wanted. So we took her along, and she bought a vape which she now uses, instead of smoking cigarettes. This is an incredible change after smoking 80 cigarettes a day. Maggie is so proud of herself and how far she’s come – and so are we!”
Maggie’s health has now turned around – she no longer needs frequent visits to the doctor about her chest problems, and her breathing has improved dramatically. She has also saved a lot of money, and recently enjoyed a lovely summer holiday using savings which before would have been spent on smoking. Maggie is also delighted to be buying nice new clothes – something she couldn’t afford to do before.
