Ghazala, who lives in Rochdale, was so addicted to nicotine she smoked 30 cigarettes a day from the age of 14. She didn’t stop, even during her first four pregnancies, but as soon as she fell pregnant with her fifth child, Ghazala felt ill every time she lit up a cigarette. The feeling of nausea was so bad, Ghazala quit smoking straight away with the help of a specialist maternity tobacco dependency advisor at Rochdale Infirmary as part of her antenatal journey. The support is offered by all maternity units across Greater Manchester as part of Greater Manchester’s Smokefree Pregnancy Programme.

Ghazala’s baby girl, Zuaira was born at 40 weeks on 20 August 2023 with a healthy birthweight of 8 lbs. Still smokefree, Ghalaza has vowed never to smoke again.

“During my first four pregnancies, I continued to smoke 30-cigarettes a day and every one of my daughters was born prematurely with low birth weight. But the minute I fell pregnant for the fifth time, it felt like my baby was telling me to give up smoking. I started feeling ill every time I picked up a cigarette. When I was booked in for my pregnancy, I was referred to the maternity stop smoking team, who were fantastic and offered loads of support.

“I had always thought vaping was more harmful than smoking, but my midwife explained all the facts and gave me the confidence to swap cigarettes for a vape. My sister agreed to stop smoking at the same time and it was great to have her support throughout my pregnancy.

“Vaping stopped me feeling ill and has helped me to quit smoking for good. I don’t think I could have done it without the help of the Smokefree Pregnancy Programme but now I know I’ll never smoke again and when I think about how much I used to spend on cigarettes it shocks me.

“I feel so much healthier now. I used to get out of breath after a couple of steps but not anymore. Giving up smoking really has changed my life and I’m so grateful.

“To anyone who is thinking about giving up, I would say consider all the lovely things you can do with the money you’ll save and how much better you’ll feel. Smoking simply isn’t worth it.”