A COUPLE who had smoked around 40 cigarettes a day for the last forty years are among one million smokers who have kicked the habit since the first coronavirus lockdown.

Stuart and Gill Watson, from St Leonards, had each been smoking between fifteen and twenty cigarettes a day for the last four decades.

They decided to give up together and joined a quit smoking course ran by One You East Sussex, a free healthy lifestyle service based in Eastbourne.

The pair used Nicorette patches to help them quit and received regular phone calls checking up on their progress.

Team leader Tanya Sutton said quitting smoking can have a “very quick, positive impact.”

She said: “Within 24 hours after you quit, nicotine will be eliminated from your body, and carbon monoxide leaves within 48 hours.

“Between three and nine months after you quit, coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will improve as your lung function is increased by up to 10%.

“One year after you quit, your risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half.”

The Argus: One million smokers who have kicked the habit since the first coronavirus lockdown. One million smokers who have kicked the habit since the first coronavirus lockdown.

“Everybody’s personal journey is unique to them. Someone may want to stop smoking because they’re concerned about Covid or other respiratory conditions, because they’re keeping an eye on costs or for many other reasons.

“That’s why it’s so important to have the support of stop smoking advisor to help.”

The 12-week programme involved 890 smokers from across East Sussex.

Before deciding to quit, each smoker got through an average of 14 cigarettes a day.

It is estimated that 872,200 cigarettes went unsmoked due to the course, the equivalent of 43,610 packs of 20.

With the average pack of the most expensive cigarettes currently costing £12.73, it is estimated that £555,155 was saved – money that would otherwise have gone up in smoke.

More than 136,000 smokers in the South East have quit since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, according to research by Action on Smoking and Health and University College London.

For more information, visit https://oneyoueastsussex.org.uk/services/quit-smoking/