Nicotine 'slave' crowned Quitter of the Year

Despite smoking more than a packet of cigarettes a day since he was a teenager, Daniel Magrin, 33, has conquered his addiction and gone on to be crowned European Quitter of the Year.

Although he admitted he felt somewhat nervous at first, Mr Magrin managed to stop smoking almost overnight and switch to nicotine chewing gum for almost four months. Patting his stomach, Mr Magrin joked he did put on some weight in the meantime.

A former sports enthusiast, he confessed he had reached a point where he used to wake up at night to smoke a cigarette or two before going back to sleep.

If he did not have any cigarettes, neither rain nor shine would stop him from going out to buy more because of what he described as his slavery to nicotine.

Despite trying to quit several times, he finally decided to call it a day after he became concerned about his health - he was suffering from frequent headaches and a shortness of breath.

Moreover, he said, a friend once told him everyone had to stop one day or another, be it out of their own free will, when a medical condition cropped up or when they died, so he might as well do so right away.

Nowadays, almost eight months later, Mr Magrin holds regular support meetings for his colleagues at Bank of Valletta, where he works as a strategic planning manager.

He encourages others to follow suit and anyone who has managed to stop smoking is urged to share their experiences with others.

Mr Magrin was nominated for the award by the Health Promotion Department, which last year invited those who stopped smoking to send in their success stories.

After his story was selected, he travelled to Barcelona in Spain last week, where he received the award.

Accompanied by his wife Claudia and his daughters Christina and Carla, Mr Magrin also received a token during a ceremony at the Health Ministry, in Valletta.

During the event, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said Mr Magrin was delivering an important message to everyone through his success.

Congratulating him on his award, Dr Cassar said an estimated 300,000 people were also affected by passive smoking.

The awards are organised by the European Network of Quitlines. The other countries that took part were Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK.