Chair Of The Royal College Of Physicians' Tobacco Advisory Group Responds To ONS Report On Stop Smoking Services In England

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 21 Aug 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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Commenting on new figures from the ONS on cessation services in the UK, Professor John Britton, Chair of the Tobacco Advisory Group, said:

"It's excellent to see that nearly three-quarters of a million smokers tried to quit through the NHS last year. That a quarter of a million were successful represents up to 125,000 fewer deaths from tobacco-related diseases. There is no way the government could achieve this result so cost-effectively by any other means; no other country in the world is providing cessation services on the same scale and with the same level of success. It is vital that we continue to develop the options available to those who wish to quit and reach out to other smokers.

"The success of these services must also be seen as a reflection of the many other tobacco control measures that de-normalise smoking, such as smoke-free legislation. Continuing to push down the social acceptability of smoking will give more people a reason to want to quit."

Source
Royal College of Physicians

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