Reporter Mike Ribbeck continues his diaries on giving up smoking

YET more letters of encouragement have arrived on my desk this week from people who have stopped smoking.

Hearing from other former smokers who have been through the same trials and tribulations has been something of a thrill for me.

It is quite a special feeling to realise that people are actually interested in the things you write about and that sometimes it strikes a chord.

Someone who smoked for 40 years wrote to tell me how they managed to quit and the money they saved has been used to pay for a flight to Australia.

What makes this trip so special is that the person involved was adopted and has managed to trace the family they never knew in Australia.

N Thompson and M Wiggans from Blackburn have written in and asked for their names to be added to the list of people who have stopped smoking.

Jane Benn from Rishton stopped smoking on Monday, January 17, and hasn't had a smoke since.

The others who have already come out in public are Mr Billington from Accrington, other people who have given up include Deborah Heyes, Jane Billington and Allison McIntyre.

Remember, if you want to publicly say you have stopped smoking write to Michael Ribbeck at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, Newspaper House, High Street, Blackburn BB11HT or send an e-mail to mribbeck@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.