Coleen Nolan urges Britons everywhere to WAKE UP after health scare left her thinking she was 'going to die'
Coleen Nolan quit smoking after 40 years and is urging Britons everywhere to do the same
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Coleen Nolan is urging Britons everywhere to quit smoking after a terrifying health scare forced her to kick the habit.
The 58-year-old Loose Women star recently revealed how she thought she was “going to die” when she was struggling to breathe as a result of an acute chest infection.
This ordeal was a wake-up call for Coleen, who said she smoked 30 cigarettes a day for 40 years.
The Loose Women presenter, who rose to fame as a child singing with her sisters in The Nolans, has not smoked for more than three months.
The Loose Women star said she was not aware of the health risks when she first started smoking
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She said she was not aware of the health risks when she first started smoking but does not want others to make the same mistake.
She has joined forces with leading health charities Cancer Research UK, Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) and Asthma and Lung UK and the Government to urge smokers to quit on No Smoking Day.
“I smoked for about 40 years and was heavily influenced by my friends and family around me,” she said.
“At such a young age I wasn’t aware of the health risks of smoking and soon found myself becoming addicted.
“Following a recent health scare, I realised how precious life is and became determined to quit, not just for my own health, but so I can be there fully for my children and grandchildren.
“To anyone out there thinking of giving up smoking, my advice is do it.”
The new campaign urges England’s 5.3 million smokers to make a quit attempt through their local stop smoking services, which can be found through the Better Health NHS tool.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said: “Cigarettes kill. They cause at least 15 different types of cancers and increase your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions.
“Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health – no matter your age or how long you have smoked.”
Public health minister Dame Andrea Leadsom said: “Cigarettes are responsible for 64,000 deaths a year in England – no other consumer product kills up to two-thirds of its users.”
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Cigarettes are responsible for 64,000 deaths a year in England
PA IMAGESResearch continues to shed light on the ways smoking damages your health.
A recent study found that smoking tobacco even changes your immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to disease and infection even years after you’ve quit.
The research, published in the journal Nature, shows how smoking decreases the body’s ability to fight off infection immediately and over time, and may also put someone at risk of chronic diseases involving inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
“Stop smoking as soon as possible,” warned study co-author Dr. Violaine Saint-André, a specialist in computational biology at Institut Pasteur in Paris.
“The key message of our study, especially to the youth, is that there seems to be a significant interest for long-term immunity to never start smoking.”