Somerset man who lost leg to smoking urges people not to start

A man who had to have his leg amputated after smoking for 50 years has said that picking up cigarettes is “never worth it”.

Cliff Hopkins, from Wells in Somerset, said he smoked two pouches of tobacco per week before deciding to quit smoking five months ago after blocked arteries led to him losing his leg.

Nearly 26,000 people in the South West have pledged to stop smoking in the past year, according to NHS figures, up from 15,000 the year before.

“It’s down to you as a person, you’ve got to want to give it up. I thought to myself, I’ve lost a leg and I don’t want to lose another one,” Mr Hopkins said.

“You think it’s not going to happen to you. But it does happen and it has for me.

“I’ve got a synthetic leg and I’m learning to walk on that. I’m getting there slowly. I’ll be back running before long, hopefully.”

He added that five months without having a cigarette has made “a massive difference, for health and wealth”.

“Don’t do it, it’s never worth it,” he said. “Think of the cost. For me, the cost is one of the major things.

“You could do so much more good for yourself with that money rather than buying cigarettes.”

Public health specialist at Somerset Council Kate Anderson said statistics showed smokers are spending an average of £2,500 a year on cigarettes.

“Just in Somerset alone, we’ve seen people who are using food banks to fund their tobacco,” she said.

Meanwhile, she added, some people who have quit smoking have been able to use the money they have saved for things like family holidays.

But Ms Anderson also said she knows giving up smoking can be difficult.

Mr Hopkins attends a weekly meeting in Glastonbury, which is run by the council and supports people who want to quit.

“That little meeting is crucial, very much so. It is difficult to give up, it’s really hard, if you’ve smoked for as long as I have,” Mr Hopkins said.

Alison Bell, director of Public Health at Somerset Council, said she believes more people are quitting because the government is investing in local services to help them, which includes the weekly meetings Mr Hopkins attends.

“What we’ve seen in Somerset is we have the highest quit rate in the South West,” Ms Bell said.