TV presenter Kate Garraway has candidly opened up about her past struggle with vaping, revealing that she once became “instantly addicted” and battled with intense feelings of guilt.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, the 57-year-old admitted she began using e-cigarettes in 2009 after giving birth to her son Billy, as a substitute for traditional smoking. At the time, Kate believed it was a safer option.
“It didn’t smell, you could do it anywhere — I thought it was amazing,” she told co-hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley. “It felt like smoking in the ‘70s. Everyone said it was better for you.”
However, after briefly quitting in 2019 during her appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Kate confessed she relapsed on-air last year: “I picked one up during a segment and was instantly hooked — I couldn’t believe it. It showed me how dangerously addictive the disposable ones can be.”
The turning point came thanks to a powerful warning from her late husband, Derek Draper, who passed away earlier this year. “Derek hated smoking. I remember him telling me, ‘It took 200 years to realise tobacco was deadly — these vapes will be the same.’”
Kate says her motivation to finally quit came from her children, Darcey and Billy. Though she admits it wasn’t easy: “I hated myself for it. It was a powerful addiction.”
