October 24th 2024.
Next up, on Good Morning Britain, Kate Garraway shared a personal story about her vaping addiction. The 57-year-old ITV presenter had quit vaping before entering the I'm A Celebrity jungle in 2019, replacing smoking with vapes after the birth of her son Billy in 2009. But last year, after a segment on the show, she found herself "instantly addicted" again.
As the news broke about the ban on single-use vapes next summer, Kate opened up about her own struggle with addiction and how it made her "hate" herself. She explained to hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, "The last thing I want to do is in any way sanction vaping, because I don't know. But my experience was, after Billy was born, I did smoke before and I was craving going back to smoking but didn't want to."
A friend had suggested vaping as an alternative, using refillable pens. Kate thought it was great - no smell and you could do it anywhere. "It must have been like smoking in the 70s," she joked, "you didn't have to stand outside." Plus, everyone said it was better for you and she did feel better. "I got the nicotine hit," she added.
But Kate did manage to quit completely before heading to the jungle and used chewing gum and sprays to curb her cravings. However, her addiction was reignited last year after a segment on GMB with props. "I think we had some props in here or something ridiculous, and I picked it up and I was instantly addicted, like beyond anything! I couldn't believe it and it made me realise how, particularly those disposable ones, are so addictive," she recalled.
She also shared a warning from her late husband Derek Draper, who "hated" smoking. "I can remember Derek funnily enough saying, 'Oh I think this is good,' because he hated smoking in all forms. He said, 'It took 200 years to discover tobacco was bad for you, these are going to be bad for you.'" Kate noted how easy it was to use and how it delivered a strong hit, making it difficult to quit.
In a message to her children, Kate clarified that she wasn't advocating for a ban on disposable vapes, saying, "This is not a sanction." She added, "I hated myself for it."
The government has now announced that single-use vapes will be banned by summer, and businesses will have until June 1, 2025 to sell any remaining stock and prepare for the ban. Vaping has seen a 400% increase in the UK from 2012 to 2023, with an estimated 9.1% of the population using them.
Kate's comments come after reports that she had a "wake-up call" to quit smoking last year for the sake of her children. Amid Derek's health issues after contracting Covid-19 in March 2020, a source told OK! magazine, "Derek's health has remained in this declining state for a while now and has faced a lot of setbacks in recent weeks. It's given her a wake-up call that she needs to be fit and well for her kids." It was also reported that Kate had lost weight due to the stress of being Derek's caregiver and was concerned about getting sick if she continued smoking.
Derek passed away on January 3 at the age of 56, leaving Kate to grieve. They had been married for nearly 20 years and shared two teenage children, Darcey and Billy. Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1. If you have a celebrity story, video, or pictures, you can get in touch with The Agency entertainment team by emailing us, calling 020 3615 2145, or visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you.
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