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Press release

HSE Mid West can help you QUIT smoking in 2026

One person’s QUIT journey with QUIT Mid West

Published: 3 February 2026

Updated: 4 February 2026

HSE Mid West is now supporting more people across Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary than ever before to QUIT for good through stop smoking supports and free nicotine replacement therapies (NRT).

One such person is Siobhan Tynne, a 54-year-old who lives in Limerick City.

Siobhan quit smoking just over three months ago with the help of the HSE QUIT Mid West service. She had thought about quitting plenty of times before, but it was not until she was attending her HSE physiotherapist for a recent injury who offered to refer her to the QUIT service, that she decided to take the plunge. Niamh Keating—a Stop Smoking Advisor at QUIT Mid West—rang to arrange the first appointment, and it went from there.

Siobhan said: “I walked into that first appointment with a pouch of tobacco in my pocket, but once myself and Niamh started talking, I decided it was now or never. I felt empowered and supported straight away, and we threw the tobacco away together.

“At the start, I attended the QUIT service on a weekly basis. Niamh is my stop smoking advisor and she has been wonderful; she is excellent at her job. She has supported me through stressful events and times where I was sure I would have gone back to smoking; for example, when both of my elderly parents were having health issues and needed significant support. I realised you need to really trust the person who is working with you, and I knew I could trust Niamh.”

Siobhan continued: “I am still taking it one day at a time, but I am feeling positive. I hope to get out and about more walking my dogs. I have started a big declutter of my house and have started meditating too. Taking part in the QUIT Programme has changed a lot for me, and my body is feeling the benefits. I would recommend the service to a friend, without a doubt – and in fact, QUIT Mid West could have one particular friend of mine knocking on their door very soon!”

Mary McMahon, Tobacco Lead, HSE Mid West said: “Siobhan’s story shows the difference that getting support to quit can make. Smoking is a complex behaviour which has physical and psychological dependence elements and our trained stop smoking advisors can work with you to create a personalised stop smoking plan tailored to fit your lifestyle. They can advise you on NRT and provide this to you for free.”

QUIT supports available

QUIT Mid West services are free and available all year round. QUIT Mid West provides personalised, evidence-based plans, tailored to your needs, using any combination of the support options:

HSE QUIT services are now helping more people quit successfully than ever before. In the last five years, the number of people using HSE QUIT has doubled and the proportion who successfully quit at the end of their programme has increased by 50%. HSE QUIT services follow National Stop Smoking Guidelines and provide people with free access to support and stop smoking medications, which offer people the best chances of quitting for good.

Top tips for quitting smoking successfully

  1. Don’t feel you need to go it alone. HSE QUIT is there for you, to help you take this step with simple, practical and effective help, maximising your chance of staying quit for good. Staff will provide non-judgemental support and encouragement.
  2. Focus on the goal to stay smoke-free for one day at a time until you get to 28 days. Once people get to that goal, they are up to 5 times more likely to stay quit for good.
  3. Use stop-smoking medicine, like nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). This is a safe, effective and a clinically sound way of dealing with cravings.

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