IT WAS third time lucky for Paul Sutton when he decided to give up smoking.

The 49-year-old, from Boscombe, who had smoked an average of 20 cigarettes a day from the age of 16, had twice tried unsuccessfully to quit.

But he finally managed to stub out for good after visiting his local Stop Smoking Service.

Paul said: "I started with the nicotine patches and then I went on to the inhalator thing, which I hardly used.

"I feel much better in myself now and I'm eating better as well."

Paul has now been a non-smoker for about four months and admits he actually found giving up quite easy.

"The last two times I fell at the last hurdle, but this time I knew my mistakes from the time before," he said.

And did Paul have any words of advice for fellow quitters?

"Stay positive," he said.

  • For further help, contact the local Stop Smoking Service: Bournemouth: 01202 436866 or Poole: 01202 745750.