Councils hail 24% rise in attempts to quit smoking

The number of people attempting to quit smoking using council commissioned Stop Smoking Services has grown by almost a quarter, according to NHSE data.

(c) Reza Mehrad/Unsplash

(c) Reza Mehrad/Unsplash

The latest figures show there were 238,166 attempts to quit smoking in April 2024 to March 2025, up by 23.8% on 2023/24. In addition, 127,541 people successfully quit, up by 18.4% on 104,125 in the year earlier.

Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘The increase in uptake is a positive sign that more people are coming forward to access help, recognising the value of expert, local support in their journey to quit smoking.'

Over 10m people have attempted to quit smoking since the launch of the services 25 years ago, with over 5m people achieving quitting smoking for at least four weeks.

Smokers using local smoking cessation services are up to three times more likely to quit successfully compared to those who try to quit unaided.

The percentage of adults smoking fell from around 26% in 2000 to under 12% in 2023.

Cllr Fothergill added: ‘Council public health teams continue to work hard in their communities to help smokers quit and support the collective ambition for a smoke-free generation by 2030. There is no doubt that countless lives have been saved through this provision, as well saving on NHS and social care costs.'

BREAKING NEWS: 'We're turning a corner', Streeting hails NHS productivity growth

BREAKING NEWS: 'We're turning a corner', Streeting hails NHS productivity growth

By Lee Peart 03 November 2025

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has said the NHS is ‘turning a corner’, after the latest figures showed the NHS is outperforming its productiv...

Ministers must 'set a date' to end corridor care

By Liz Wells 31 October 2025

A third of people said they would be less likely to go to hospital because of the Corridor Care crisis, and 53% said that they would feel more anxious if the...

Millions more using online GP consultation requests

By Liz Wells 30 October 2025

Millions of people are using online consultation requests to contact their GP practice each month, new NHS data reveals.


Popular articles by Lee Peart