Nearly 165,000 smokers managed to kick the habit in the summer of 2007 with the help of NHS Stop Smoking Services, a report by The Information Centre for health and social care (The IC) revealed yesterday. Half the 327,800 who used the service successfully quit between April and September 2007, a period which coincided with the introduction of the smoking ban in most public places in England on July 1. This is a 28 per cent increase in the number of successful quitters and a 29 per cent increase in the number of people setting a quit date through NHS Stop Smoking Services compared to the same period in 2006. The findings from the report, Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April to September 2007, are based on the number of smokers setting a quit date and the number who successfully quit by a four week follow-up. Other key findings were: Of the 8,619 pregnant women who set a quit date, 4,084 successfully quit. Success at the four-week follow up increased with age, from 37 per cent of those aged under 18, to 59 per cent of those aged 60 and over. Tim Straughan, Chief Executive of The IC, said: "This report gives a valuable insight into NHS Stop Smoking services and includes the first findings since the smoking ban was introduced. It shows more and more smokers are accessing NHS Stop Smoking Services and many of these are successfully kicking the habit. It also suggests NHS Stop Smoking Services coped well with increased demand after the ban came into force." A full version of the report is

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