Mark Ferguson

Cardonald, Glasgow

Mark Ferguson, postman at the Laverndale Hospital, picked up a 10-a-day habit when he was 25. Now 36, Mark decided that it was time to quit for good.

Mark, who is keen on his fitness and weight training, realised that smoking was the one bad habit that was noticeably affecting his health. Despite sticking to a regular exercise routine, Mark frequently found himself short of breath when exercising and realised that smoking was probably the root cause.

Having worked in the hospital for 10 years, Mark was aware that advice was on hand within his workplace to help him quit. However, it wasn't until 5 months ago that he approached Denise Meldrum, the local stop smoking practitioner, to help him quit smoking. Through a combination of patches and support from trained advisers at Smokeline, Mark succeeded in quitting. Unfortunately, it only lasted two months before he succumbed to having the occasional cigarette when out at the pub with his friends.

Now 5 months on, Mark is working through another 3 month course of patches and is determined to make it work.

Mark said: "I think of myself as being fairly health conscious and take myself off to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. However, I've been very conscious that smoking is the one thing that's holding me back from pushing myself when exercising. The support I received from Denise and from the trained advisers at Smokeline was superb. Although, my first quit attempt ultimately failed, I'm determined to quit for good this time around."