01 March 2024 , 18:59
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A terrifying health scare gave Loose Women star Coleen Nolan the push she needed to finally give up cigarettes after more than 40 years as a smoker.
Coleen, 58, developed an acute chest infection, leaving her struggling to breathe and fearing she would die. She explains: “I literally couldn’t walk a few feet without stopping to catch my breath. It was the scariest thing, feeling constantly winded. After Loose Women one day, our warm-up guy Lee insisted on taking me to see a doctor, who put me on antibiotics. Being a typical woman and mum, I kept saying I’d be fine.”
But when Coleen got back to her hotel that night in early December to meet her partner Michael Jones, 60, things took a turn for the worse. “I met Michael outside the hotel and by the time we’d gone up in the elevator and walked a few paces to my room, I was gasping and trying to say that I couldn’t breathe,” reveals Coleen. "I had a full-scale panic attack and the more stressed I got and the more I cried, the less able I was to breathe.
Coleen Nolan has opened up about her health scare (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Hea)
The Loose Women star said she cried while suffering from a panic attack (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)“I genuinely thought ‘I’m going to die in my hotel room, away from home’. It was really frightening. The whole thing lasted two minutes but it felt like an hour.” The next day, Coleen made an emergency appointment with her doctor back home in Cheshire. She adds: “He knows I smoke and told me I could be looking at COPD and emphysema.
“The message was, if you carry on smoking, this is what will happen. I thought: ‘What the hell am I doing?’ I want to be around for as long as I can for my kids.” Coleen shares daughter Ciara, 22, with former husband Ray Fensome, and sons Shane, 34, and Jake, 31, with her first husband, former EastEnders star Shane Richie.
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Her doctor sent her for a chest X-ray and blood tests the next day, before an agonising wait for the results. She says: “I was going to bed at night, saying to Michael, ‘I’ve got COPD or lung cancer... what an idiot!’ When I went back to get the results and was told my X-ray had come back clear, it was a massive relief. My chest will probably never recover but hopefully quitting will mean it won’t get any worse. I felt like the universe was saying ‘This is your last chance’.”
Coleen's partner Michael was by her side (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Coleen hasn’t smoked for 12 weeks but admits quitting hasn’t been easy after smoking 35 cigarettes a day since the age of 12. She says: “There were cigarette machines on every street, and every advert gave you the impression smoking was cool.” The experience, although frightening, has helped Coleen get in shape for her nationwide tour, Naked.. and In the Mood for Dancing, a concert of her favourite songs, which kicked off in her home town of Blackpool and runs all month at venues nationwide.
She says: “It’s a full-on concert of girly anthems with a live band and backing singers. It’s a fun night out where you can forget all the other stuff for a minute. I want people up on their feet, having a good time.” The Mirror agony aunt is also gearing up to move house – she is downsizing so she can afford to buy more land to accommodate more cats, dogs and goats. She said: “I’m doing everything on my own, so if decide to buy 28 more goats, I don’t want to be with anyone who says I can’t. Michael accepts it.”
Tickets for Coleen’s tour are available now at coleentour.com
Coleen's top tips for packing in smoking:
- LET THE URGE PASS The craving only lasts a few minutes. It’s hard not to give in if you’re stressed, and there have been times I’ve wanted to smoke. But the first few weeks are the hardest.
- DISTRACT YOURSELF If you get the urge to smoke, do something else instead – pick up a book, call a friend, listen to a podcast, clean the kitchen. Distraction is a powerful tool.
- DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP I still can’t bring myself to say I’m a non-smoker because I don’t want to put pressure on myself – as soon as I feel pressure, that’s when want to smoke! Instead, I say, “I’m trying my best”. And if I mess up once or twice, I’m not a failure. I’ll still be doing great. If you fall off the wagon, start again.
- REMEMBER WHY YOU’RE DOING IT Keep reminding yourself why you’re quitting. I go back to the time in my hotel room when I thought I was going to die.
- TRY GUM AND PATCHES Stop-smoking aids work for some people and I’ve tried them all. They helped to take the edge off the craving.