Bas Verdonk (19) from Ter Heijde smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for three years. After several unsuccessful attempts to stop, he is now completely done with it. That is why he enlisted the help of Jordy Graat and Christel de Laat, who will help him get through Stoptober.
Every year in October, people are called upon to stop smoking. “I have stopped a few times before, but always fell back,” Bas said on Saturday afternoon in the radio program Graat & de Laat of Omroep Brabant. Together with his brother-in-law Siep Fens (also 19), he is now taking up the challenge again. “This time there is a bit more tension, because the whole of Brabant is watching. So I hope it will work now.”
“When I kiss my girlfriend, it’s like kissing an ashtray.”
Bas started smoking when he was sixteen. He has a large group of friends, twelve of whom smoke. The threshold to also light a cigarette was therefore not high. “It started cigarette by cigarette, at first all secretly. After a month I told my parents and then I started smoking.”
Bas is now becoming increasingly concerned about his health. Moreover, he is fed up with the expensive packages and the smoke around him. “When I give my girlfriend a kiss it’s like kissing an ashtray, so I can understand that she’s happy if I stopped.”
“Now maybe they will pay more attention.”
For the next five weeks, the radio duo will follow Bas during his attempt to get rid of his addiction. He is supported in this by experts. “I think the evening in the cafe will be very difficult for all of us. It always went wrong there,” says Bas. “But now those guys know I’m serious about it and maybe they’ll pay more attention.”
Bas has not yet been able to persuade his friends to give it a try. “But who knows. It would be nice if we all stopped. Then we can all book an extra holiday with the money we save.”