GP Well, sadly most people, when they're trying to stop smoking, choose the most difficult and least rewarding way, which is just cold turkey, doing it by yourself. We know that using support, which is out there, through the stop smoking services in the UK, plus medication, that makes it so much easier to stop.
Q I stopped smoking on 6th July 2005. I could hardly breathe. I could hardly walk 20 paces and I was very much on the way downhill.
GP There are 3 kinds of medication to help people stop smoking. There's nicotine replacement and then there are 2 tablets, Zyban and Champix, and again they're all on prescription, so for many people that means free as well. There are 6 kinds of nicotine replacement. There are patches. There's gum. There�s micro tablets which go under the tongue, lozenges, nasal spray and an inhalator. They're all as good as each other and, of course, you know what may be great for one person is no good for another, so it's really important that you know about all 6 of these treatments. And the best person to tell you about that is a trained stop smoking adviser.
Q I tried inhalers and after a few days, it worked perfectly.
GP Nicotine replacement is really very safe and that's important, because many smokers think it's the nicotine that�s killing them. It is not. It is the rest of the cigarette that kills you and, of course, none of those ingredients are in nicotine replacement.
Q I went for the highest dosage of nicotine I could get on patches.
Q Micro tabs, which is a little tablet you place under your tongue.
Q I used an inhaler.
GP The other thing is, they think, well, you know, nicotine makes me smoke, it's addictive, therefore, nicotine replacement must be. But it's not, because it's been carefully designed not to give as much nicotine or as quickly as you would get from a cigarette.
Q I didn't have to worry about the addictive side of stopping smoking. I could concentrate on breaking the habit.
GP Well, the other products that help people stop smoking are prescription tablets. Zyban works indirectly by reducing the pleasure that you get from smoking and Champix works directly on the nicotine receptor, partly stimulating it and partly blocking it so it's just not as uncomfortable to stop smoking.
Q I feel really, really proud of Mum, that she's given up smoking and she looks much healthier to me. And I'm proud of you, definitely.
Q Thank you.
Q But I can fire up a hill now without running out of breath.
Q I'm feeling absolutely on top of the world.
N To find out more call the NHS Smoking Helpline now on 0800 169 0 169 or visit gosmokefree.co.uk