New figures published yesterday have revealed that smoking cessation services have failed to meet performance standards for the sixth year running.
NHS statistics have revealed that 55,369 quit attempts were made in 2017/18, a 7.4% decrease on last year’s figure of and a decrease of 54.4% since 2011/12.
The British Lung Foundation is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure that smokers have full access to stop smoking services, after research published by the charity earlier this year revealed that there had been a 40% decrease over 2 years in the number of prescribed nicotine replacement therapy drugs in Scotland.
Commenting on the figures, Joseph Carter, Head of British Lung Foundation Scotland, said: “It’s concerning that the number of quit attempts has failed to meet government targets for the sixth year in a row. People are 4 times more likely to quit if they use a smoking cessation service to help them quit smoking, so having that support in place is critical to help reduce the stubborn inequality in smoking rates in Scotland.
“Stopping smoking is the single most important action you can take to improve the health of your lungs. Apart from the flu vaccine, smoking cessation is the most cost-effective intervention available to improve lung health for patients with COPD. It’s clear that the benefits of properly funding stop smoking services far outweigh the costs involved.
“If the Scottish Government is to achieve its goal of a smoke-free generation by 2034, it needs to step up efforts to encourage more people to quit smoking. Smoking rates remain 3 times higher in the most deprived areas of Scotland, which underlines the need for sustained, targeted support for smoking cessation in those communities in order to stub out smoking for good in Scotland.”
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