A tailor from Muş province in eastern Turkey has been applying a 50 percent discount for his costumers who promise to quit smoking.

Alican Taşdemir launched a discount campaign in 2008 to help his customers stop smoking, while writing down the names of those who pledged to give up smoking.

Stating that he tells everyone to stop by his shop to tell them about the hazards of smoking, Taşdemir said that he took President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as an example, who made a name for his strict stance against smoking.

"I had launched a battle against smoking. I had received certificates of appreciation from various institutions. These encouraged me [even] more to fight against smoking. I took our president's fight against smoking as an example. I will keep going. I aim to help more people quit smoking," Taşdemir said.

Dr. Serdal Türkoğlu, the head of the public health directorate in Muş province, praised Taşdemir's efforts, noting that they also show extensive efforts to get people to give up smoking.

"It makes us proud that we have people like Mr. Taşdemir in our province who support us in our fight… We thank Mr. Taşdemir for his support to get people to quit smoking. We hope this practice will spread," Türkoğlu said.

Zeki Seziş, one of Taşdemir's customers, said that he had been a smoker for 30 years until he went to Taşdemir's shop and heard about his campaign three years ago.