Written question asked by Ashok Kumar (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 December 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 December 2008. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 January 2009 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Smoking

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to provide (a) extra support for and (b) incentives to those attempting to give up smoking since the entry into force of the smoking ban.

Answer: A wide of range of support is available from the national health service for smokers who wish to give up smoking. Options are available on the NHS 'Go Smokefree' website at:"www.nhs.uk/gosmokefree"or from the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0169.Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for the provision of NHS local stop smoking services. Within communities, PCTs make free support available in a range of innovative ways to support smokers who wish to quit.Smokers who use NHS support to quit are up to four times more likely to do so successfully than those trying to go it alone ““cold turkey””.The Department also has a marketing strategy aimed at encouraging smokers to quit, particularly with the support of the NHS.

Secondary information