A Derby couple who smoked 40 cigarettes a day for four decades have quit together with the help of Livewell, inspiring their son to stop too. 

Livewell is a city-wide service to help Derby residents quit smoking, offering free support and nicotine products and vapes for up to 10 weeks.

58-year-old Jozef, from Normanton, is celebrating three months smokefree and attributes his success to the support and products he received from Livewell. He is backing the Stoptober national campaign which encourages people to quit smoking during October. Research shows that if you can stop smoking for 28 days, you’re five times more likely to quit for good. 

Since quitting, Jozef has continued his journey towards better health, losing weight, giving up alcohol, and he no longer needs oxygen to manage his sleep apnoea. His blood pressure has also returned to a healthy level, and his type 2 diabetes is in remission. Being able to walk more and breathe more easily inspired Jozef’s wife to quit five weeks later, and together they motivated their 37-year-old son to join them.

The couple credit their success to Livewell advisor Marianna, who supported them in their native Slovakian after they were referred by a nurse at Lister House Surgery.

Marianna runs face-to-face stop smoking appointments and drop-in clinics for Lister House’s Eastern European patients from Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland. 

Jozef explains how he joined the service:

Having lost 30 kilos, I was ready to stop smoking for my health and felt embarrassed about smelling of stale smoke. I noticed people backed away from me when talking. I didn’t know how to quit or that there was free support available. From the moment I stepped into my first appointment, Marianna welcomed me in Slovakian, explained how the service worked, and we discussed together what product would work best for me. We decided on a vape for the hand-to-mouth action, and as a heavy smoker, Marianna recommended the highest strength of nicotine liquid to help manage my cravings. I also stopped drinking alcohol as I’d light up a cigarette to have with a drink.

Upon reaching his four-week quit milestone, Jozef encouraged his wife, Jana, to book an appointment with Marianna so they could continue their quit journeys together in a smokefree home, free of temptation. Jana adds that she already feels less breathless, has more energy, and is pleased with their progress. The couple are saving £450 a month, money they are using for holidays and gardening projects.

Now that Jozef is three months smokefree, Marianna is supporting him to cut down on vaping, which he plans to stop by Christmas. He is now on the lowest nicotine strength and is taking Marianna’s suggestions of not vaping in the home to reduce his dependency in a gradual but sustainable way to avoid returning to smoking. Jozef has also learned that keeping himself busy and adjusting his daily routines are effective strategies for managing the behavioural aspect of smoking.   

He concluded by saying:

I’m happier than I ever was whilst smoking and I’m determined to stay quit. I never believed it could be possible, so if you want to quit, then take up the Stoptober challenge and get Livewell to support you. I tell everyone in my community about Livewell so that more people know specialist support is available.

Livewell advisor Marianna added:

It’s been a pleasure to work with Jozef and Jana and see them experience the many benefits of quitting. At Jozef’s first appointment his carbon monoxide level was off the chart, now it is the same as a non-smoker. If people feel ready to quit, then we can support them to get there, and Stoptober provides the ideal opportunity.


Livewell provides telephone appointments to get started, with drop-in clinics to pick up treatments and get a carbon monoxide test across the city. Face-to-face appointments are available in some communities. Read more inspirational stories, find out more and book a telephone appointment online, through the Livewell website.