Trish Oak

Trish is a specialist stop smoking advisor at the Kick It Drop in Centre in Hammersmith where she helps local smokers quit on a full time basis. Trish used to smoke a lot – chain-smoking at some points – but kicked the habit in 2002 by attending a stop smoking group and using nicotine nasal spray.

On her motivations for her work, Trish comments “I enjoy helping people understand how smoking has trapped them and how it can trap anyone, then showing them that there are workable ways out of the trap.  The most rewarding aspect of helping people quit is the after-effect: when they arrive at a session looking much happier and healthier, in some instances hardly recognizable as the same person I met a few weeks before.”

Trish’s top tip for quitting is as follows:

“know your personal motivation to quit and remind yourself of it often – if you’ve smoked since you were in your teens (or earlier) then you may have no concept of yourself as an adult non-smoker; look forward to where and who you want to be and we’ll help you get there.”

If you’d like to make an appointment to see Trish please call 020 8741 8314 or e-mail trish.oak@kick-it.org.uk

Jan Adamson

Jan has an interest in substance addiction and was also a smoker herself in her twenties. She enjoys seeing the sense of achievement that people get once they quit smoking. Jan adds

“smokers often look quite different when they quit and are literally given a new lease of life. Being on the journey with them is a great privilege even though it can be a rocky road.”

Jan has helped hundreds of smokers quit. Her top advice?

“Be patient with yourself, there’s no magic solution but with patience and some help you can get there.”

Simon Nadolski

Simon started smoking in secondary school for social reasons, “simply because all of the cool kids were doing it”, he says. He soon kicked the habit, however and on joining university he surrounded himself by non-smoking friends. Simon is now a specialist stop smoking advisor with Kick It.

On why he enjoys being an advisor, Simon says

“it’s one of the rare jobs that gives a true feeling of purpose and consciousness of actually making a difference for others.”

Simon’s advice for those wanting to quit is as follows:

“One of the main reasons people relapse are stressful situations. If you plan something big that might cause stress, postpone it by a few weeks if you can. Do one big thing at a time. Postpone all the unnecessary tasks that fill up your spare time. Instead, do as many little (healthy) treats and pleasant things as you can during the two months following your quit date, to reward yourself for the great job you are doing. These do not have to cost you anything – just think of all the things you always enjoyed, and did not have time to do recently. Find time. Relax. Once you quit, the feeling and confidence of success will propel you to a victory in the next big thing on your list.”

Simon is Polish and is also setting up a Polish speaking advice service.

If you’d like to make an appointment to see Simon please call 020 8741 8314 or e-mail simon.nadolski@kick-it.org.uk