New figures published today (24th July) have shown that the number of people trying to quit smoking with the help of Stop Smoking Services across Humber and North Yorkshire over the last year has increased by nearly a third.
Stop Smoking Services play an important role in national and local ambitions to achieve a smokefree England. Stop Smoking Services offer a combination of free behavioural support from trained advisors alongside access to stop smoking medications and other products such as vapes. Stop Smoking Services have consistently been proven to be three times as effective in helping people who smoke to quit, compared to trying alone.
Smoking remains the single biggest preventable killer, responsible for an estimated 64,000 deaths a year across England. In Humber and North Yorkshire alone, where there remain around 176,000 adult smokers, smoking is estimated to cost the region £1.39 billion a year, including £62.7m in healthcare costs and £477m in social care costs.
Data from NHS England shows that 31% more smokers have set a quit date with our local Humber and North Yorkshire Stop Smoking Services in 2024/25 compared to the previous year. 5,337 people set a quit date with their support in 2024/25, which represents around 3% of our adult smoking population. 3,206 people were recorded as successfully quit – a success rate of 60% – significantly higher than the average success rate nationally of 54%.
This is the highest number of people across our area using local Stop Smoking Services since 2018/19 and reflects the additional investment into these life-saving services by the government last year.
The rise in people using Stop Smoking Services is also reflected nationally, where there has been a 23% increase in the number of people setting a quit date. Across Yorkshire and Humber as whole, we have seen a 22% increase this year compared to 2023/24.
Alex from York quit smoking recently with the help of the City of York Council’s Health Trainers, who provide the local stop smoking provision, said: “Everything about the service was bang on, from the way the sessions were delivered to how regular they were, to the way you felt supported.
“The accountability of it was huge actually, because on some of those weak moments, I knew that I was going to be seeing Beth from the Health Trainers again and that carbon monoxide monitor will come out, and that really did make a difference in the moment.”
Martyn Willmore, Head of Preventable Risk Factors within the Humber and North Yorkshire Centre for Excellence in Tobacco Control, said: “It is brilliant to see the increase in the number of people using our world-leading Stop Smoking Services this year. Using these services gives people the very best chance of quitting successfully. This will not only improve their health in the short and long term but also help people save a significant amount of money. On average, tobacco is estimated to cost each smoker around £2,300 a year.
“The additional investment into Stop Smoking Services last year has been shown to be effective in helping services reach more smokers and provide their life-saving support. This will play an important role in helping us to achieve our smokefree society ambition. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill which is currently proceeding through parliament sets out a range of new measures which will encourage adult smokers to quit and to dissuade more young people from becoming addicted to tobacco. We call upon the government to ensure that this Bill is passed as quickly as possible.”
Philip Truby, Public Health Specialist Practitioner for City of York Council, said: “It’s great to see more people using our Stop Smoking Services, as people are three times more likely to quit successfully with expert support.
“Our highly trained teams are on hand to support anyone ready to take the first step towards becoming smokefree and the best news is that it’s completely free.”
Yvette Gosling, Senior Public Health Officer for Tobacco Control at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Tobacco smoking is the biggest form of preventable ill health, disability, and death, costing the East Riding £250 million per year. Due to the extraordinary harms of smoking, it is vital that we help empower residents to stop by encouraging and supporting quitting.
“It is great to see an increase in referrals and quits through Xyla, our local stop smoking service, who provide behavioural support and NRT to help residents quit smoking. One service user said: “Quitting smoking without support is difficult. Having support from a health coach encouraged me to keep going.” Another said: “Go for it there is life after smoking and it’s a better one.”
For help to quit today, get in touch with your local stop smoking service here: Ways To Quit – Local Services – Yes To Quit