BBC NEWS | UK | England | Northamptonshire | Pensioner quits smoking 100-a-day

Peter Powell, from Towcester, had smoked for 50 years when he decided to give up in March last year with the aid of his local pharmacy.

Mr Powell, who started smoking in the army in the 1950s, said if he had known the damaging affects of tobacco he would never have started.

"If I had realised then that I was going to be doing a lot of damage to myself I wouldn't have touched them," he said.

Balloon blowing

"Gosh in the middle of the week and I'd got no money, until I got my wages at the end of the week, that used to be hell."

Mr Powell said he had tried to give up when he was in his 30s and 40s but had failed and said he recommended anyone looking to quit smoking to seek support.

"If there's a chemist near them that's running a no smoking campaign and they really want to pack up and have some extra money floating around in their pockets they can go to them and go on a course.

"I can blow a balloon up now, I couldn't do that before."

Emma Mingins, of Lloyds Pharmacy, told the BBC: "Its absolutely fantastic, he's been so keen to give up and he's wanted to give up for a long time now but coming in week in, week out, to give that support has really helped him to quit."