A COUPLE have given up cigarettes after decades of smoking thanks to a support programme based at Leighton Hospital

Now Maureen and William Gooder are urging other smokers to quit after putting a century of tobacco addiction behind them.

They say they echo the NHS's Stoptober challenge by saying "it is never too late to stub out cigarettes".

Maureen, 70, began smoking as a teenager and smoked up to 20 fags each day, while William, 73, began the habit aged 16.

The couple say they are healthier and richer after they supported each other to give up with the help of hospital-based tobacco addiction treatment service CURE, funded by Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA).

The CURE smoking cessation team approached Maureen in January when she was having treatment for breathing difficulties at the Crewe medical complex.

After she returned home, William was asked to join her on the 10-week programme and both were supported with treatment to give up, including with nicotine replacement therapy.

The couple reckon they can save around £4,000 a year from their former tobacco spend.

William said: "We are both feeling much better for it. We both have more energy and food tastes better. I never thought I would see the day that Maureen and I would give up smoking.

"We'd talked about it but the CURE programme helped us to actually do it. We did it together as a couple, supported each other and we are so happy we did.

"It just shows that you are never too old to give up smoking. It is strange, but after more than 50 years of cigarettes I can't stand the smell of them now - I only wish I'd given up sooner."

CMCA is funding CURE projects for patients at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - which runs Leighton - and at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The projects help patients wanting to quit tobacco with a package of support and treatment, regarding smoking as an addiction that should be treated as an illness.

The CURE team engages with patients in hospital when they may have an increased motivation to quit and prescribe medication that can help.

Support is continued when patients return home. The projects report a high proportion of those who give up stay tobacco free.

Dr Gareth Jones, a consultant at Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust and CMCA tobacco control clinical lead, said: "This example shows the importance of inpatient smoking cessation programmes. Helping unwell smokers while they are in hospital leads to long-term success in quitting and being supported to stay off cigarettes halves the chances of being re-admitted to hospital.

"Quitting smoking is one of the single most important things anyone can do for their overall health.

"Giving up as a couple or with someone else can make a quit attempt more likely to succeed. I'm really pleased for Maureen and William, they have proved it's never too late to quit."

The couple, who have recently moved from Nantwich to Prestatyn, say they "highly recommend" smokers complete the CURE programme.

Williams added: "It made it easy for us to quit and there was the support we needed behind us.

"Maureen was a patient who qualified to go on the programme, but I wasn't, and I'm so grateful they decided to help me as well."

For more information about quitting smoking this Stoptober go here.