Soon-to-be-grandmother welcomes Bill to stop next generation smoking following experience of cancer

A-soon-to-be grandmother is welcoming the passing of a recent Bill in Parliament which aims to create a smokefree generation following her own experience of smoking-related cancer.

53-year-old Wendy Robinson first started smoking when she was 12, a pattern later followed by her daughter, Amy, when she was a teenager.

Three decades later, following the death of her mum to a smoking-related illness, Wendy successfully quit smoking, determined to make sure Amy wouldn’t have to experience the same heartbreak. However, shortly after quitting, Wendy was diagnosed with kidney and lung cancer, and her daughter nearly had to watch history repeat itself.  

After recovering well from cancer treatment and having helped others across Yorkshire and the Humber quit smoking through her work in the NHS, Wendy is thankful the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has now received Royal Assent. The Act will ensure the next generation, including her future grandchild, can never legally be sold cigarettes.

When Wendy spotted a packet of her mum’s cigarettes on the kitchen counter aged just 12, she did not understand the dangers it posed.  

Wendy said: “Smoking was the norm in my life; it was on the TV shows I watched and people would smoke at my school. My parents would also smoke in the living room. No one spoke about the harm smoking could bring back then. The first time I tried a cigarette I felt sick, but before long I was smoking without really thinking about it.”

Yorkshire has the highest smoking rate in England and over 12% of the region’s adult population smoke - equivalent to one in every eight people. Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable illness and sadly, over 60 people in Yorkshire die from a smoking-related cancer every week.

Wendy continued to smoke for the next 32 years, regularly getting through 20 cigarettes a day.

“For me, smoking was a way to cope with stress. I was dependent on cigarettes for everything. If I hoovered, I would reward myself with a cigarette. If I was bored, I would smoke! Even when I couldn’t afford it, I would find ways to cut down on other aspects of my life. Cigarettes always came first.”

The turning point for Wendy was in 2015 when her mum, Val, was rushed to Scarborough hospital with sepsis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), conditions which both affected her lungs and are strongly associated with smoking.  

After decades of smoking, Wendy’s mum faced limited treatment options, and she sadly died in 2015.

Committed to improving her health, Wendy joined a local stop smoking group. Research shows people are three times more likely to quit smoking for good with combined specialist behavioural support and stop smoking aids.

Wendy said: “I was able to get the help I needed. I started on nicotine patches, then e-cigarettes, which really helped me deal with the cravings and ultimately quit all together. To this day, I’m so proud of what I achieved.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research funds £75 million of life-saving cancer research and innovative new services to help more people in Yorkshire live longer healthier lives, free of cancer. This includes the Yorkshire Cancer Research Stop Smoking Service that is helping reduce cancer in the region by offering free personalised stop smoking support to anyone who wants to quit smoking in Yorkshire. 

Pictured above: Sarah and Tori, members of the Yorkshire Cancer Research Stop Smoking Support Service

Wendy continued: "It’s all about breaking that habit. The one-to-one sessions with my stop smoking advisor were brilliant. Having a person every week who praised me, pushed me, gave me that reason to quit. You just need someone to believe in you.”

Little did Wendy know she had stopped smoking at a vital time. Soon after giving up cigarettes, she went for a routine scan, which detected tumours on her kidney. She underwent surgery in March 2024 to remove the cancer, which she recovered well from.  

A few months later, Wendy went for a follow-up scan following her surgery which showed a nodule in her lung. Finding out she had lung cancer came as a huge shock, but her consultant assured her she was fit enough to have surgery to treat the cancer, largely because she no longer smoked. 

Mr Michael Gooseman, a thoracic consultant at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, is the surgeon who supported Wendy throughout her treatment.

During this difficult period, Wendy was additionally caring for her dad. He had also previously smoked and was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer which affects the white blood cells. He sadly passed away in 2024.

Wendy said: “I had to stay positive as my dad dealt with his cancer, but it was really hard, especially as he neared the end of his life. As with my mum, I was shown once again what could have happened to me if I hadn’t stopped smoking.”

While Wendy watched as her dad’s health deteriorate from smoking, her daughter, Amy, was placed in a similar position. Seeing her mum need life-saving treatment for her smoking-related cancer gave Amy the push she needed to quit too.

Wendy is now attending check-ups every six months to monitor her health, and she’s looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild.

Wendy said: “I couldn’t believe it when we found out Amy was pregnant. I’m going to be a grandmother!” 

This huge family milestone has coincided with the landmark passing of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in Parliament, which will stop those born on or after 1 January 2009 from ever legally being sold tobacco. This major new piece of legislation aims to create a smokefree generation – and, with time, an entirely smokefree country. 

Mr Michael Gooseman added: “The piece of legislation is a hugely positive step in preventing harm before it happens. Prevention is better than having to address disease through treatment."

To give back, Wendy became a Tobacco Dependency Advisor, transforming her experience into helping other people in the Yorkshire and Humber region quit smoking for good. She also worked on the NHS lung cancer mobile screening unit, offering stop smoking support to people who stepped onto the van for their chest CT scan – an idea explored during the Yorkshire Stop Smoking Study, which worked alongside the life-saving Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Wendy said: “I’ve spoken with people who have admitted they can’t get up the stairs without becoming wheezy and, by the end of their time with the service, can go on long walks again. It’s such a rewarding job.”

Today, in addition to working in Spirometry for the Humber Health Partnership, Wendy is sharing her experience as part of ‘Turn the Corner’, a collaborative campaign led by the Humber and North Yorkshire Centre for Excellence in Tobacco Control in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research and all 15 local authorities across Yorkshire and Humber, to get more people across the region to stop smoking for good. 

Now embracing her smokefree life, Wendy enjoys tending to flowers in the garden and catching up on the moments she lost to smoking.  

She said: "As well as feeling fitter and less stressed, it’s the little things I most appreciate now I don’t smoke. I would miss out on activities which you couldn’t do without a cigarette, like watching films or sitting inside at the pub. Now, when I’m with my friends and family, I’m so much more present, healthy and happy. I’m looking forward to making those precious memories with Amy and my grandchild.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research is pleased to see the passing of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, but more still needs to be done to make sure change continues. The charity is calling for the introduction of a polluter-pays levy, which would cap tobacco industry profits at a reasonable level and redirect the excess into stop smoking services. By shifting the financial responsibility back onto the companies making money from smoking, this single policy could raise around £700 million every year to help more people become smokefree. 

Wendy concluded: “If I hadn’t gone to my local stop smoking group, I wouldn’t be here. We need more funding for these vital support services in the community, and the people selling us the cigarettes should be the ones to help pay for it." 

Dr Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research, Policy and Impact at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “The passing of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a landmark moment for public health and one that will save thousands of lives in Yorkshire, where smoking rates are the highest in England. Tobacco harms our most deprived communities the most, and teenagers are four times more likely to smoke if their primary caregiver does. By raising the age of sale every year until no one can legally buy tobacco, this Bill will help break that cycle.  

“The charity welcomes the Bill’s passing and its other measures to reduce the appeal of vaping and other tobacco products to young people, helping future generations across Yorkshire grow up healthier and free from the devastating impact of smoking. It is a transformative step towards a smokefree future.”