'I'm just so glad I stopped smoking when I did'

A mother and daughter are featured in a new campaign to inspire Yorkshire and the Humber's 562,000 smokers to quit.

The Turn the Corner campaign, which is running on TV, radio and social media, aims to get across the message that every cigarette takes 20 minutes off your life.

It features Wendy Robinson, from Cleethorpes, who quit after losing her mother to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and was herself later diagnosed with kidney cancer and lung cancer caused by smoking, which resulted in her undergoing surgery.

Her daughter Amy, from Hull, said being pregnant and her mother's experience had provided the inspiration for her to quit.

Wendy said: "I felt bad on my family and, when I could see my husband crying, I'd think I don't want to lose him. It's not the surgery that upset me but thinking of my husband and daughter. 

"I'm just so glad I stopped smoking when I did," she said, adding she did not want her daughter to experience the same thing her own mother had gone through.

In response, Amy said: "Seeing my mum go through kidney and then lung cancer was horrible. I thought if she can stop smoking after 34 years, then I can quit too.

"And then finding out I was pregnant was a big motivator to keep going and stay quit," she said.

Wendy said she was so proud of Amy, adding it was great her grandchild would be brought up in a smoke-free environment.

"They won't see smoking as normal like I did," she added.

Gillian Cunningham, from Pocklington, who is supporting the campaign, said she started smoking when she was 11. She described giving up as "life-changing".

"I feel so much better and I have been able to spend quality time with my family," she said.

"I honestly think if I hadn't quit nearly 10 years ago, I would have died and, after losing my mum to a smoking related disease, there was no way I was going to put my children through the same situation."

Cunningham, 55, who now works as a tobacco dependency adviser at York Hospital, urged anyone who wants to quit to keep trying.

"It is extremely hard to stop, so take each day as it comes and find the right stop smoking aid for you," she added.

She said six months after she quit, she was able to hike up Pen-Y-Gent in the Yorkshire Dales.

"My breathing has improved dramatically and I've never felt better. I'm a keen walker now and I've started cycling. I also have more time for myself and my family, which is brilliant."

The campaign is being coordinated by the Centre for Excellence in conjunction with all 15 local authorities across the Yorkshire and Humber region, as well as Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Tony Graham, director of retail, services and operations at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: "Smoking remains the biggest preventable cause of cancer worldwide, and its impact can often span generations when children grow up seeing smoking as part of everyday life.

"Wendy and Amy's experiences show both the profound harm caused by tobacco and the powerful difference that quitting can make, not only for an individual's health, but for the health and future of their family," he added.

More information and support is available on the Yes to Quit website.

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