Rise in success rate of smokers quitting

The global pandemic may have helped to put many Bath and North East Somerset smokers off quitting - but those who did attempt to give up last year had a higher chance of success.

NHS figures show the number of people setting a target date to quit smoking fell by 23 per cent in Bath and North East Somerset, from 515 in the year ending March 2020, to 397 over the same period last year.

That follows a recent trend, with national figures showing the number of smokers making the decision to quit has fallen each year since 2011/12.

But it may also be partially explained by the pandemic.

Smoking cessation charity ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) says its research shows around 60 per cent of local authorities commission some or all of stop smoking services from primary care providers - which were on the frontline of the fight against Covid-19 and less likely to be able to provide support last year.

Many services also rely on referrals from GP practices and pharmacies, which were also disrupted by the pandemic, while some simply stayed away from support services due to the risk of catching or spreading the virus.

It could also be that many felt that a global pandemic was not the best time to give up smoking.

Homeworking, added financial pressures, furloughs, and anxieties over catching the virus or a close family member falling ill may have convinced many smokers that it was not worth the extra stress of trying to give up.

But Stop Smoking figures show that those who did make the decision to try to quit had greater success than smokers the previous year.

ASH believes this was a “pandemic effect”, with those who did make the decision to give up showing high levels of determination.

Across Bath and North East Somerset last year 307 smokers successfully quit. That means 77 per cent who made the attempt were successful, compared to 63 per cent the previous year.

Nationally, 59 per cent of smokers making the attempt were successful in the year ending March 2021, compared to 51 per cent during the year leading to the pandemic.

That is a much higher proportion of successful quitters than any other year in the past decade.

Since 2010/11 the percentage of successful quitters has hovered at between 49 per cent and 52 per cent.

Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of ASH, said: “Many areas were able to maintain support to smokers during the pandemic but those providing services through pharmacies and GPS struggled as these professional staff were the frontline of the Covid-19 response.

“However, support for smokers has been in decline for a decade now because of underfunding by the Government.

“The gap in funding should be filled by a levy on tobacco companies, something widely backed by the health sector and due to be debated as part of the Health and Care Bill.

“Government should seize the opportunity to fund services which could help thousands more to stop smoking.”

Across all England, smokers using Stop Smoking services were most likely to successfully quit in Yorkshire and the Humber, where 71 per cent of 16,765 were able to give up.

Smokers in the South West had the lowest success rate, of 53 per cent.

Of local authority areas, in North East Lincolnshire 82 per cent of 548 smokers managed to give up cigarettes.