Introduction

Dear Friend,

Throughout my journey, I have discovered the power of resilience and the strength within each of us. While I have faced personal traumas that have shaped my path, I am committed to turning my experiences into sources of inspiration for you. Within every challenge lies an opportunity for growth and transformation.

Debunking Myths

Personal Background 

Hello, my name is Sue, and I am your coach on this incredible journey towards a smoke-free life. I was born into a large, loving Catholic family in New Zealand’s South Island. Dad was in the Army Mobile Dental Unit, and Mum had left her nursing training to marry Dad. I went nursing when Dad deployed to Singapore with my younger siblings. My older brother had joined the Army, and my younger brother had gone into a racing stable to train as a jockey.

At 18, I left office work to go into nursing. It gave me a home, and Mum said because she loved it, I would too! She was right. I loved nursing people! I have been nursing at all levels since the 1970s. I had to start as a Community Nurse because of my lack of education due to two childhood concussions and a major brain injury at age twelve. Life was training me to do workarounds. I became a second-chance learner as an adult.

The Smoking Struggle

How do I know about smoking, quitting, and relapsing? I started smoking when I first went into nursing. Can you credit that they were sold on the lolly trolley around the wards? I wanted to join in with the girls who went outside during breaks for a smoke and were laughing and having a great time. They were friends before the first day was over! I wanted that! Friendship! I knew I wasn’t supposed to smoke, but I didn’t realize then that I wouldn’t be able to stop! Does that sound familiar?

I went on to smoke for seventeen years and struggled to quit for eight years. When I could hardly breathe, I switched to menthols. I was under a Respiratory Specialist for two lung diseases! He gave me the hard word – Quit now or be on oxygen sixteen hours a day by the time I was 54 years old!

The Turning Point

I went home devastated by the news. Mum was shocked, and my sister was horrified. An hour later, they both lit up in front of me. I made an excuse to leave and drove to a quiet road to sit and think. But little good did my tears and self-reflection do me. I smoked for another three years. Then, one morning, after coughing violently, I looked in the tissue and saw something so frightening I never smoked again. I thought I’d left it too late!

The Search for a Better Way

Panicking, I thought about everything I had done in the past to quit. I had tried all sorts of things like the ISIS program, medications, and aids like nicotine patches and gum, but nothing worked long-term, and I got hooked on the gum. I rushed around the house looking for everything to throw away: cigarette packets, a carton of cigarettes, ashtrays, you name it. All of it went in the bin. I wouldn’t – couldn’t smoke again! I was going Cold Turkey, and I was glad to. Cold Turkey had worked for my friend; others told me it had a bad rap, but it worked. My greatest concern was another weight gain when it should have been my poor children (I was divorced), who were subjected to second and third-hand (surface) smoke. God, where were my priorities? I later discovered smoking destroys your ability to make good decisions, so I am not too hard on myself about that now.

A Career Shift

Everything would change again when I suffered another significant head injury and my nursing career derailed. Unable to work full-time in the areas I wanted, I eventually applied for a position in a hospital closer to home. I opened the letter from the Occupational Health Department expecting to see my conditions of employment. Instead, I saw a threat of deregistration of my nursing qualification. The Occupational Health Department had intercepted the application, and the interview had gone badly as the doctor didn’t believe I was fit to work despite working successfully part-time for several years since the accident. I was devastated by the letter! It took me back to the first years after my accident when I berated myself for having a ‘baby brain’ whenever anything went wrong. Those early days were a constant struggle. I battled with the frustration of being unable to recall things as easily as I once could, and I thought I had successfully hidden this daily struggle from outsiders. However, when I received that letter, my private world was laid bare in black and white. It was a devastating moment. The feeling of humiliation and inadequacy washed over me, and I felt small as if my hard-fought progress had been erased.

A New Direction

I knew the Occupational Health Doctor was right; I was struggling with daily persistent headaches and other problems, but I was determined to live a life of purpose and fulfillment with my nursing career closing off. It was hard to see a way forward until my sister suggested using my knowledge and skills to research smoking and the problems of quitting without relapsing. It was an Eureka moment. Everyone in my family, almost without exception, was a smoker or a struggling ex-smoker. Many of my family and friends had relatives who had died of smoking-related diseases, and my nursing experiences involved caring for smokers and their families. I felt empowered, alive again. I never understood why people smoked when their bodies were getting sick—until it happened to me. I was diagnosed with not one but two lung diseases, and I struggled to quit. The substances destroying my health had an iron grip on me. It was a perplexing and frustrating experience. I wanted to find out why people went back to smoking even when they were diagnosed with severe heart and lung disease. I wanted to unravel this mystery, to understand why the pull of smoking was so relentless, even in the face of dire consequences. This personal struggle ignited my determination to find a better way, not just for myself but for others who were trapped in the same cycle.

Journey to Helping Others

I had craved nicotine for six years after I quit and gained weight every time I stopped. I knew something was missing from the standard quit plans, and I wanted to find out why people went back to smoking even in the face of life-threatening disease. That was in 1998; since then, I have worked in the cessation and tobacco industry, helping people and New Zealand as a nation go smokefree.

Present and Future

I am taking my signature program, “The Smokefree System: Taking Back Control,” online on a gamified platform called Xperiencify and will offer my services as a Quit Coach to those who need me. If you’re ready to take the first step towards a healthier, smokefree life, join me in this empowering journey. Don’t let nicotine control your destiny. Reach out to me today, and together, we’ll create a path to a smokefree future filled with health and vitality. Your transformation begins now.

Closing and Invitation

As your coach, I aim to guide you with empathy, understanding, and unwavering support. I hope you will give me the privilege of hearing your story and helping you navigate the ups and downs of quitting smoking. I will provide you with the tools and strategies to overcome any obstacles. This journey is about more than just quitting smoking; it’s about reclaiming your power, health, and life.

Your mission – should you choose to accept it is – to use this groundbreaking, gamified approach to quitting smoking in just 12 weeks or less, become an ex-smoker who can confidently say:

“I love not smoking!”

This interactive program will empower you to actively engage in relapse prevention techniques, break the chains of addiction, and achieve freedom in all aspects of your life!

There is no one-size-fits-all for quitting, so if you need VIP Coaching or want to participate in The Smokefree System: Taking Back Control on the gamified platform Xperiencify, The Smokefree System: Taking Back Control launch is pending.

I am 100% committed to your success. Let’s embark on this transformative adventure together. Are you ready? Let’s get started!

The Smoker’s Friend
Quit Coach, Sue