A 73-year-old man with a serious lung condition has shared how he conquered his smoking habit.

Julian Danquah, who lives in Hackney and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, began reducing his cigarette intake with assistance from Smoke Free City & Hackney.

The group provided Julian with nicotine replacement therapy and advice, as well as reasonably priced access to a mouth spray to help him reduce his tobacco use.

Julian attributed his progress to the service, sharing his experience for No Smoking Day on March 11.

He said the advisor he worked with was excellent, supportive and easy to talk to. She gave him the tools he required, particularly Nicorette Quickmist Mouthspray, to stop him smoking the roughly 20 cigarettes he had been consuming every day.

He noted that the spray prices were too costly for someone on a pension. His main reason for contacting the service was that, as someone with COPD, he needed to quit or substantially reduce his smoking. He found he could do this using the spray. However, as a pensioner, the spray costs were beyond his means. Once he could obtain them free from Smoke Free, his usage fell to three or four cigarettes every other day and he clearly felt better.

Syeda Begum, who manages the service at Smoke Free City and Hackney, said quitting smoking does not have to be something attempted alone. People are five times more likely to quit for good when they combine behavioural support from a specialist stop smoking advisor with free nicotine replacement therapies and or vapes.

Every successful quit is a win for the individual, their family and the whole community. Giving up smoking is definitely one of the biggest steps you can take for your health.

The programme, which offers support for 12 weeks, is open to adults and young people aged 12 and over who live, work, study, or are registered with a GP in Hackney or the City of London. Help can be arranged through in-person visits or telephone appointments.