David smoked for four decades. Choose you helped him stop.
02nd Oct 2025, Real stories
At 57 years old, David had been smoking since the age of 11. With a long-standing habit of thirty to forty hand-rolled cigarettes a day, he’d only ever managed to quit once previously, for six months, before grief pulled him back in.
The turning point: a cardiac arrest changed everything
David suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. His heart stopped beating for an hour. Emergency services scrambled an air ambulance and transferred him across hospitals.
“They thought I was a goner,” David recalls. “They tried one last time and got a pulse.”
The brush with death became the jolt he needed. While recovering in hospital, David was introduced to our stop smoking team at Choose You.
How Choose You’s support made the difference
Once back home, David began receiving regular calls from Leanne, a specialist from Choose You.
“She’s a gem and has been a rock to me,” David says. “It was nice to have the encouragement and know that you aren’t on your own.”
He started out using plastic cigarette substitutes but has since stopped using those, too. For David, the support wasn’t just about nicotine; it was about connection, consistency, and compassion.
New habits, new life: David’s smoke free journey
Told he’d need a year off work to recover, David astonished his medical team by returning after just four months. As a coach driver, he used to fill the waiting time with cigarettes. Now?
“I walk three miles around the lake every other day,” he says proudly. “And my god, doesn’t food taste better now! I can taste the difference between chicken and beef.”
David’s journey from addiction to recovery is a powerful example of how targeted support and human connection can inspire lasting change. With the help of Choose You, he reclaimed his health and his life.
Ready to quit? We’re here to help
You’re three times more likely to quit smoking with expert support than on your own. Refer yourself to Choose You for free to access one to one guidance from experienced advisors who offer personalised support and stop smoking replacement therapies to suit your needs.