NHS help sees 4 in 10 smokers kick the habit

Four in 10 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale residents who vowed to quit smoking have successfully kicked the habit.

In total, 1,820 gave up smoking between April 2008 and March this year — 44% of the 4,172 who tried.

Smokers who said they had stopped were given a carbon monoxide test four weeks after their chosen stop date to prove they had not smoked.

The figures are only for former smokers who sought help from the NHS, meaning numbers could be much higher.

Across England, the number of people who successfully quit smoking was 337,054 during 2008/09. Total expenditure on NHS Stop Smoking Services was £74m, an increase of 21 per cent on the £61m spent the previous year. The cost per quitter was £219 compared with £173 in 2007/08.

The NHS Information Centre’s chief executive, Tim Straughan, said: “Fewer people successfully quit last year compared with 2007/08.

“However, 2007/08 saw the introduction of the ban on smoking in public places which would be expected to affect the number of quitters that year.

“It is encouraging that more people quit smoking last year than in 2006/7, the year prior to the ban.”

Contact the stop smoking service on 0800-328 8534.