Fans sent their support to the former Coronation Street star following her honest update

Kym Marsh has said quitting smoking was ‘one of the hardest things’ she’s done as fans sent their support to the former Coronation Street star.

The actress, who played Michelle Connor on the cobbles from 2006 to 2019, has teamed up with the NHS as part of a new anti-smoking ad.

Having smoked on and off for 25 years after picking up the habit as a teenager, Kym encouraged her followers to visit the free NHS Quit Smoking App to mark No Smoking Day on Wednesday, March 12.

Captioning the Instagram post, Kym wrote: “Quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s also one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself. The turning point for me was my family – I want to be around for as long as I can for both my children and grandchildren. That’s what keeps me motivated every single day.

“Stopping smoking made such a difference to my life – I just felt so much better for it. It’s not always easy to quit smoking, but it’s worth it. Join me this No Smoking Day and start your quit journey today.

“The NHS have lots of available resources and information to help you stop smoking. For help and support download the free NHS Quit Smoking App today.”

Speaking more on the topic in a video, Kym said that it was ‘becoming a grandparent’ at a ‘fairly young’ age that made here realise she had the ‘opportunity of doing some really amazing, adventurous things with them’.

The actress, who played Michelle Connor on the cobbles from 2006 to 2019, has teamed up with the NHS as part of a new anti-smoking ad(Image: ITV)

She continued: “I don’t want to cut that short. I knew that I shouldn’t be smoking, because my dad had a massive cardiac arrest when he was 49, and thankfully recovered and we got him for many more years, but that was all down to the fact that he was a very, very heavy smoker.

“And I just thought ‘Come on Kym, this should be the time when you look at your life and go, actually, I want to be around’. I’m not going to let something like what happened to my dad take me away from my grandchildren and my kids.”

Calling herself a ‘social smoker’, Kym said that a hart part of her mission was ‘trying to break that cycle of weekends and being out” with her friends.

“Choosing places that we went to that made it more difficult for smoking to be accessible, or being with people who didn’t smoke. I just tried to remove myself from those situations as much as possible. Eventually, I got to the point where I felt that I didn’t miss it any more,” she said.

The comments section of the actress’ post saw her followers commending her for quitting smoking and reflected on their own experiences giving it up.

@robin_phillips_personaltrainer said: “Such a courageous thing to do especially being in television, well done.” @garyhatt000 added: “I smoked for about 5 years and giving up was one of the best things I have ever done.”

@samanthacrawford804 wrote: “Good on you, I quit smoking 3 months ago cold Turkey it’s hard but so rewarding and the benefits are amazing. Getting my taste buds back and I’m alot fitter than I thought I was.”

@deanl1058 posted: “Well done! You’ve already achieved a lot and this is arguably the best achievement yet.” @itsmescotlarr stated: “Well done. I gave up 2 years ago after smoking for almost 20 years and it is by far the best decision I ever made. It has made me a better person inside and out!”