Smoke-busters kick the habit

But now a trio of South Yorkshire pensioners have finally stubbed out their last cigarettes.

Catherine Dixon, aged 93, Winnie Thompson, aged 85, and 83-year-old Nancy Law all started smoking in their teens and had puffed away on at least 20 fags a day ever since - until they stopped six weeks ago.

Between them the trio, from Barnsley, smoked more than 1.5 million cigarettes - yet they claim they found it easy to stop.

Winnie said: "Sometimes you fancy one if you get a bit worked up, but you've just got to say 'no'. I would tell anyone trying to quit to just be determined."

The women, who all live in the Valley Park Care Home in Wombwell, said they started smoking in their teens, when everybody smoked.

They stopped smoking seven weeks ago and have completed a quit smoking course with nurse Sue Pickering who has been supporting them.

The course was set up in response to the public smoking ban which took affect on July 1 and meant residents could no longer smoke in the home.

Valley Park senior carer Wendy Alexander said: "They have been brilliant. They have all had nicotine patches and although we joked they might get a little moody trying to stop smoking, they have been fine and an inspiration to anyone thinking of stopping smoking."

The ladies are not the only ones to stub out the habit - three members of staff at the home also joined the course and have quit.

When Catherine, Winnie and Nancy first started smoking it was completely normal for shops to sell cigarettes to children.

Many shops openly sold cigarettes one at a time to youngsters and today it is legal for shops to sell cigarettes to 16-year-olds.

But Barnsley East and Mexborough MP, Jeff Ennis started a campaign to raise the age at which cigarettes can legally be bought and that becomes law on October 1.

New Government legislation will raise the age to 18 in an effort to reduce smoking rates among young people.

In a Barnsley Fit for the Future survey last year 16 per cent of 14 and 15-year-old boys and 28.2 per cent of girls of the same age in Barnsley said they were regular smokers.

Lynsey Japp, Smoke Free Barnsley coordinator, said: "Currently, half of all teenagers who smoke will die from diseases caused by tobacco if they continue to smoke throughout the course of their life.

"Raising the minimum age at which teenagers can be sold tobacco products will reduce the availability of cigarettes and could therefore discourage young people from taking up smoking in the first place."

After October 1 retailers who sell cigarettes or tobacco products to under 18-year-olds could be fined up to 2,500.