A birthday to remember

Rami knew his birthday fell on WNTD, and after smoking two packs a day for 20 years, he’s happy to say that this year he’s finally celebrating a smoke free lifestyle.

For Rami, smoking was as an escape from his mental health struggles, but after realising it was doing him more damage than good, he set his mind to beating his dependency to cigarettes.

“I really struggled with quitting smoking, I wanted to quit for so long, but I had no idea where to get help - I was having my last cigarette every five minutes, and every five minutes after that,” said Rami.

Rami made the decision to contact the Smokefree Clinic team after his mental health team recommended reaching out to them for support.

“I could talk to someone who understands what’s going and now I’m taking all the help I can get on my journey to quit smoking. I’m not replacing the habit, instead I’m putting all my effort into making a new lifestyle for myself one day at a time," he said.

“I’m still in the early stages but I feel so much better about myself now I’ve finally broken free of those smoking chains.”

Rami’s a big believer that if he was able to quit anyone can do it – if you’re interested to learn more about what can help you to quit and stay quit, visit www.quit.org.au or contact Quitline on 13 7848. For information on support for Alfred health patients, please visit https://www.alfredhealth.org.au/services/smoke-free-clinic.