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David Young Community Academy: Teacher spurred on by pupils to quit smoking
A teacher at Seacroft's David Young Community Academy could win a holiday after quitting cigarettes for good because she felt like a "hypocrite" telling teenagers off for smoking.
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Languages teacher Bekki Derry has entered her story in the search for inspirational quitters across the UK for the European Smoke Free Awards 2009.
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Run by UK stop smoking charity QUIT and the European Network of Quitlines, each entrant into the awards has a chance to win a trip to Barcelona for the awards ceremony, and compete with winners across Europe for a prize of €5,000 in holiday vouchers.
Now 27, she first smoked as a 12-year-old, and at the peak of her habit smoked 30 a day.
She told Seacroft Today: "I was a smoker for as long as I can remember. I didn't know how not to smoke."
After numerous attempts to quit, Bekki finally put her cigarettes down for good in June.
She said: "The pupils knew I quit smoking first time around and were proud of me and then a few of them saw me smoking again. I also teach them PHSE (Personal, Health and Social Education) and tell them not to smoke, but there I was smoking and I felt like a hypocrite. Now I can tell them off if I catch any of them smoking."
Bekki also had a health scare earlier this year, cementing her desire to stop smoking.
She said: "I'd been coughing up a lot of green phlegm, I was in a lot of pain and I was very worried."
She was referred to hospital and diagnosed with pleuracy. Bekki said: "After spending an hour or so at the hospital in tears, if I didn't have a strong resolve to stop before, I sure do now. I don't want cancer or any other life limiting disease. I can't bear the thought of the misery I would cause to my family if I died through something that I had done to myself."
She added: "I decided enough was enough. I didn't have an epiphany, wake up from a coma and forget I used to smoke, or have a loved one die of a smoking related disease. I am just normal, have quit the old fashioned way and I am proud of myself. I've told people I'm quitting a thousand times, but this time it's for real."
The UK winner wins a weekend stay in Barcelona in February 2010 for the awards ceremony, with the overall European winner scooping €5,000 in holiday vouchers.
The overall European runner up wins €2,000 holiday vouchers.
The closing date for entries into the competition is December 31, 2009, so there is still plenty of time to enter yourself or nominate someone.
To enter, visit: www.quit.org.uk or contact the Quitline on 0800 00 22 00. Rules of entry are on the website.
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