Hundreds of families across Wales visited us on our Fresh Start summer tour, and although it has sadly come to an end we had lots of fun along the way.
More than 500 people signed our summer pledge to show their support for the campaign and over 1,000 of you took home information to learn more about the effects of second-hand smoke.
Over 400 smokers and non-smokers tested their carbon monoxide levels and many people took their first steps towards keeping their cars smoke-free by picking up one of our Fresh Start packs.
Patch learnt some new moves and boosted his fitness at a zumba class and P-Ciggy is happy it’s over after lots of you decided to show him a thing or two about the effects of second-hand smoke.
We met some really inspirational people who came to support the campaign and shared their stories about the challenges of giving up smoking with us.
Nicola Martin from Merthyr, who quit smoking four months ago, visited the Fresh Start team with her son, Tom.
Nicola said: “My son Thomas was worried I was damaging my health by smoking. I feel brilliant now. I’m definitely fitter and food tastes better. The other great part of stopping smoking is my increasing bank balance. After only four months I’m saving £124 a week which is fantastic! We are off to book a holiday now with my cigarette money savings. Thanks to my son I’m now a non-smoker.”
Lisa Bowen has been a smoker for more than 20 years and visited our Cardiff Bay event with her two-year-old daughter, Lauren, to get help with making a fresh start.
Lisa, who is from Llandaff North, said: “I had only quit smoking a few days before I visited the Fresh Start team and I was surprised to see how high my carbon monoxide levels were. Knowing what I know now will give me the drive to stay smoke-free. Lauren had a great time beating up P-Ciggy so I think in future she’ll be glad I’ve given up.”
Celeigh Vaughan-Edwards, aged 4, and mum, Katherine, visited Patch and the Fresh Start team in Bangor to find out more about the effects of second-hand smoking.
Katherine Edwards, who lives in Maesgeirchen, said: “It’s great to see Patch and the Fresh Start team in Bangor and the information they have given us has been really helpful. I took a Fresh Start pack for my friend, who is a smoker, so now we will all be more aware how important it is to keep our car smoke-free.”