After 61 years of smoking, a grandmother has finally decided to call it quits.

Ann Russell, 74, from Kingsnorth, has given up the habit for Stoptober- the national campaign running this month to stop people from smoking.

Mrs Russell started smoking when she was just 14 years old.

She said: “Back in the days when I started smoking, nobody knew of the health risks. It was a cool thing to do. “When I started at 14, I would smoke around 10 cigarettes a day and when I could afford more, I would say I was smoking up to 30 cigarettes a day. I became so addicted.”

She hopes that her success in giving up smoking will encourage long term smokers to quit.

She said: “I’d tried to quit in the past but I’d never succeeded. I’d tried cutting down gradually and then totally cutting out the cigarettes but I always started smoking again.”

After a routine check with her GP, Mrs Russell was referred to Kent Community Health NHS Trust’s Stop Smoking Team, where she has been able to give up her long-term habit using Champix- a tablet that mimics the effects of nicotine in the body.

The grandmother of five, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) used to be too out of breath to shop in the Designer Outlet with her grandchildren.

She said: “I was missing out, but now I can wander around the shops with them which is fun; we spend a lot of time giggling, which is lovely. I’m now able to enjoy quality time with them.”

Mrs Russell believes that quitting smoking has given her a better quality of life, as her damaged lungs are starting to repair.

She added: “I can breathe now, that’s the main benefit for me of quitting smoking and I’m using my cigarette money to pay for a gardener too, so I can’t start smoking again – he’d be out of a job.”

If you need help quitting smoking call 0300 123 1220, text ‘quit’ to 87023 or emailkcht.sss@nhs.net