LITTLE Milly Farmer is living proof you can quit smoking.

Her mum Sarah decided to ditch cigarettes to help her conceive after being a 25-a-day smoker for 16 years.

Six weeks later she was pregnant with Milly and has quit for good.

Now mother and daughter will feature in an anti-smoking poster campaign across Salford which will feature real quitters.

Research has shown that women who are heavy smokers are liable to find it more difficult to conceive. One reason is that it damages the lining of the womb.

Four other local people who also stopped smoking will soon see themselves on advertising hoardings.

Their pictures will appear in taxis, buses, local press and prominent sites in the city, with quotes from them as to why they gave up.

One in three adults in the north west is a smoker and Greater Manchester has the highest concentration of smokers in the country.

Sarah, 39, who works for Salford council as a diversity officer, said: "I got married in January 2005 and decided that after our honeymoon I would quit smoking to get healthier and conceive.

"I thought it would take 12 months, but six weeks later I was pregnant with Milly, who was born in December 2005.

"I did not smoke at all during the pregnancy because I believe it is right to do so and I have managed without cigarettes since Milly was born.

"Now I don't like the smell of smoke any more and I don't want my daughter to be growing up surrounded by smoke."

Sarah had given up smoking once before but started again. Now she is determined never to go back to the habit.

She said: "I started when I was about 18. I went to the Channel Islands to work in the hotel industry and there were free cups of coffee, booze and cigarettes. Smoking just became a fix. Now when I see people in their cars with a cigarette, filling it with toxic fumes, I think I used to be like that - it is disgusting.

"I am not the kind of person who likes having their picture taken, but if taking part in the campaign helps one person stop and think about quitting smoking, it will be worth it."

Neil Walbran, who works in Eccles, will also feature in the anti-smoking adverts.

He smoked up to 20 a day and stopped at the third attempt.

He said: "I did a plan. I didn't go out for two months so I couldn't be in pubs with others who were smoking.

"I feel tons better and now I can't stand the smell of smoke on other people - it is horrible. I was a smoker for 19 years and made a commitment to myself that I wanted to quit before I was 40."



neal.keeling@men-news.co.uk

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