How Ian quit smoking after 50 years
22nd Apr 2026, Real stories
Ian had been smoking since the age of 12. Over the years, smoking had become deeply ingrained in his routine, from picking cigarettes up from the shop when he was a young boy to smoking close to 40 cigarettes a day, with cravings waking him up in the night to have a cigarette.
He’d tried to give up many times, but it never really stuck. After spending 20 years in the fire service, a role that brought intense pressure and stress, smoking often felt like a way to bring calm to his day.
A serious wake-up call
Ian suffered three strokes and was strongly advised to stop smoking. Although he switched to vaping, he still struggled with nicotine cravings and to quit completely. Then one Boxing Day, when Ian was taken into hospital with what he thought was flu or a chest infection, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and pleurisy and admitted to hospital.
“I really thought I was going to die. I was in so much pain.”
While in the hospital, he initially asked his son and wife to bring a vape in. But after a couple of days without, something shifted.
“After a few days in hospital, I realised I wasn’t craving it as much as I used to; the healing process had already started. For the first time, I thought, maybe I could do this. They asked me if I wanted to speak to someone at Choose You, and I’m so glad I did.”
Getting the right support, at the right time
Ian began receiving one-to-one support from one of our advisors.
“It was the first time I’d ever spoken properly to a professional about how to stop smoking. We talked about my desire to smoke, how I started, my cravings and the reasons behind them. I used to think I enjoyed smoking, but through our conversations, I realised I was just satisfying a craving. That’s where the ‘enjoyment’ had come from.”
His advisor helped him understand how to manage cravings and what quit aids he could use to help:
“The support was brilliant; they were really understanding, sympathetic, and they shared my success and were proud of me. The regular check-ins really mattered. I wanted to do it for myself, but I also didn’t want to let them down. They set me up with quit aids, including nicotine patches and a nicotine-free inhaler, which helped with that sense of having a cigarette and keeping my hands busy. I’m now on the lowest dose patch.”
Seeing the benefits
Quitting smoking while recovering from serious illness wasn’t easy, but Ian quickly began to notice positive changes and financially, he noticed a big change.
“Smoking was getting expensive, so I moved to rolling tobacco and was spending about £50 a week. I’m saving around £200 a month now, almost as much as my mortgage used to be.”
Looking ahead
Ian is now looking forward to the future:
“I’ve had three strokes, and the doctor was clear that smoking increases the risk of another one. The next could be serious, so I see this as a second chance. Death doesn’t scare me, but I don’t want to die. I’ve got two adult children who have got so much life ahead of them, and I want to be here as they go through adulthood. I’m lucky to be here.”
Ready to quit? We’re here to help
So, would Ian recommend our stop smoking support to others?
“100% I would recommend it, but you have to want to quit. The most important thing for me was having someone there. The check-ins, the encouragement, the support, I don’t think I would have done it without that.”
Choose You offers free, local support to help you build healthier habits that last. Read more about the support available to quit smoking.