"I tried to give up smoking on my own without success. Then I tried Help Me Quit and it was a game-changer"
12 March 2025
Eloise Robertson, from Tremorfa, Cardiff, started smoking as a young chef on her apprenticeship.
“It started out as one cigarette on a quick break in work, and then it became one on the bus in, one on the bus home - and then before long I was telling myself ‘you need to cut down’. But you never do,” she said.
“And then 10 years later I’m smoking 20 a day and wondering what on earth happened.”
The 27-year-old first realised she had a problem with smoking when she found it difficult to cut down.
“I connected a cigarette with having a few minutes to myself, away from a situation or to calm myself down,” she admitted. “I tried quitting three or four times by myself but to no avail.”
In summer 2024, a mixture of declining health and her finances finally convinced Eloise to seek free support from Help Me Quit, an NHS-run stop smoking service.
She added: “I moved into a new neighbourhood, and when I registered with the GP they asked if I needed support with anything – and I said I’d like to stop smoking. That’s when it all changed.”
Eloise received seven weeks of tailored help from an expert Help Me Quit practitioner and accessed 12 weeks of free nicotine replacement products worth £250.
“I felt very encouraged after the first session. We set a quit date very early on which I was initially unsure about, but I slowly cut down and by the time my quit date came around I was already down to only one or two a day.
“I found it very helpful going back to someone every week to say ‘I’ve succeeded’.”
Eloise said she also found the carbon monoxide reader, which is used to detect smoking rates, very helpful.
“In my very first session I blew into the breathalyser, and the amount of carbon monoxide in my body was off the scale,” she admitted.
“But it felt like a game. I was desperate to improve on my previous week’s score, and I managed to drop my levels every week which was really encouraging.”
When she quit for good, Eloise said it felt like she had a pay rise as she no longer forked out “a fortune” on cigarettes.
“My lungs feel so much clearer now. I’m sporty and outdoorsy, so I can really tell the difference.
“One of my key bits of advice for anyone trying to quit is to tell everyone – it’ll hold you accountable. Generally, people are really supportive, and it’s a little dopamine hit to tell someone you haven’t smoked for X amount of days.”
For a full list of stop smoking services locally, and to find out if you need to pre-book an appointment, please contact the Help Me Quit contact centre team by:
- Calling freephone 0800 085 2219
- Texting HMQ to 80818 (text cost is one standard rate message)
- Going to the Help Me Quit website and requesting a call back
Smokers can also be referred to Help Me Quit by their GP or practice nurse, or if they find themselves in hospital they can access the Hospital Smoking Cessation Service and nicotine replacement products on-site before being transferred back to the community. Some pharmacies in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan also offer Help Me Quit advice and nicotine replacement products.
No Smoking Day 2025 takes place on Wednesday, March 12. This year in Wales, the theme is “Every Minute Counts” to highlight the significant impact smoking has on our lives.
Recent research from University College London reveals that each cigarette smoked reduces life expectancy by approximately 20 minutes. This means that by quitting, individuals can reclaim valuable time to spend with loved ones and enjoy life's precious moments.
Find out more about the ASH Wales campaign here.