However, the 55-year-old’s health did not improve in the way her doctors expected after quitting smoking.
“I was still coughing, coughing, coughing,”she says.
“Six months later, after I’d given up smoking, I was still coughing and the chemist worked out that I’m allergic to the blood- pressure medication I was taking and that’s what was making me cough. So, basically, I got tricked into giving up smoking! I was so addicted to smoking and I’m really glad I gave it up.”
Next month marks Lisa’s 10th year of living smoke-free.
“I’m very proud of that,” she says.
“It’s false pride, though, because I’m not proud of the fact that I started in the first place.”