Manchester has the lowest smoking quit rate in Britain, an NHS report has found.
The report, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), has revealed that Manchester City Council reported the lowest success rate (23%) in Britain despite having the second highest number of people setting a quit date.
NHS Stop Smoking Services received data from 151 Local Authorities (LAs), which revealed Manchester had significantly lower success rates than the national average (50%).
Local Stop Smoking Services are widely accessible within local communities and offer free support to help people quit smoking, offering a combination of recommended pharmacotherapies and behavioural support by specialist advisors, nurses and pharmacists.
The report mentions ‘successful quitters’, which refers to people who, when assessed four weeks after the planned quit date, declare they have not smoked even a single puff of a cigarette in the past two weeks.
Among the nine regions, Yorkshire and the Humber reported the highest proportion of successful quitters (55%), while the North East reported the lowest (43%).
Of the LAs, London Borough of Waltham Forest Council reported the highest success rate (82%), followed by Peterborough City Council (79%).
The second lowest was Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (28%).
Tobacco use remains one of the most significant public health challenges for the government, and causes nearly 80,000 premature deaths in England each year.
Image courtesy of Ed Schipul, with thanks.
