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• Giving up smoking: healthcare professionals

Val, 71, gave up smoking when she was 67. Val is White British, has an adult daughter and lives with her partner. She was diagnosed with throat cancer at the age of 67 and had a laryngectomy. Prior to the operation she took varenicline (Champix) for a short time, but now uses nicotine lozenges. Val now warns others of the dangers of smoking.

Laura, 32, gave up smoking at the age of 24. She is White British, a full-time mum, is married and lives with her husband and two young daughters. Laura started smoking when she was at school because of peer pressure. She was smoking more and more, and later she stopped as part of a health kick'. She finds she is only rarely tempted to have a cigarette now and is glad she has given up.

Abdul, 37, gave up smoking when he was 36. Abdul is British Bangladeshi, works as an outreach education officer, and lives with his partner. He started smoking with friends at school, and smoked mainly weed until university when he started smoking cigarettes as well. When he found his badminton was suffering because of his smoking he decided to give up. He thought of his identity as separate from smoking and is starting to look after his health more.

Neil, 64, gave up smoking when he was 63. Neil is White British, married and lives with his wife. He has now stopped smoking after many years of trying and having several health problems. Neil started smoking when he was 7. He developed into a heavy smoker and smoked 60 a day at his peak. Neil had a series of health problems, including blocked arteries in his legs and neck, quadruple by-pass surgery and a stroke. He gave up with the help of hypnosis.

Roger, 66, gave up smoking at aged 64. Roger is White British, is a retired local government officer and has two daughters and a son. He quit smoking two years ago when he was diagnosed with COPD. Roger first smoked when he was a teenager. Over the years he has tried a variety of ways to quit smoking including hypnosis, acupuncture, nicotine replacement patches and an inhalator. He finally quit with the help of Varenicline when he was diagnosed with COPD in his sixties.

Chris, 65, gave up smoking seven months ago. Chris is White British, retired and lives with her husband and dog. She gave up smoking after trying to stop for 15 years. Chris smoked from the age of 14. She smoked 20-30 a day throughout most of her life and said that nearly everyone around her smoked. She was then diagnosed with emphysema and bronchiectasis after always suffering with a bad chest'. She has given up after many attempts and now has to be on oxygen.

Carol 54, gave up smoking at the age of 52. Carol is White British, a housewife with a background in marketing. She has three children and lives with her husband. Carol grew up in South Africa and started smoking when she was 20. She smoked heavily (35-40 cigarettes a day). Later, she started to develop bronchitis and her voice deepened. Carol eventually gave up with the support the NHS stop smoking' service.

Munir, 54, gave up smoking at 51. Munir is British Pakistani, works in the media and lives with his wife. He has five children. Munir started smoking with friends at 13-14. He soon became addicted and smoked 10-15 a day for 37 years. Munir gave up using Varenicline and with the support of a smoking cessation nurse. He had two blocked arteries and is grateful he gave up smoking before this incident.

Caroline, 53, lives with her husband, has 5 grown-up children, and has quit smoking recently with an online programme. Caroline smoked 20 a day for much of her adult life. About three years ago she experienced a rattling' in her chest and tried many different methods of giving up. She finally stopped with the help of an online support programme and now feels much better, and even goes running with her dog.