In England, new data reveals the effectiveness of local smoking cessation services

The latest data from NHS England confirms the continued success of local stop-smoking services in improving smokers' cessation. Since their launch 25 years ago, these council-sponsored services have helped more than 10 million people quit smoking, and more than 5 million have successfully stopped smoking for at least four weeks, a time predictive of a five-times greater chance of quitting permanently. Overall, smokers who use these local stop-smoking services are up to three times more likely to successfully quit than those who try to quit unaided.[1]. 

Increase in smoking cessation thanks to local services

In 2024-2025, around 128,000 people will have stopped smoking with the help of local stop smoking services in England, compared to 104,000 in 2023-2024, an increase of 23%. These figures were published on the occasion of the 25^e anniversary of the creation of these services, highlighting their central role in supporting smokers to quit.

Since their introduction 25 years ago, these services have helped millions of people quit smoking, helping to reduce strokes, cancers, heart attacks, respiratory diseases and premature deaths.

In 2024-2025, approximately 238,000 people attempted to quit smoking with the help of these services, an increase of 40,000 compared to the previous year, making these years with the highest number of dates set for quitting and the highest number of people who actually quit smoking since 2017-2018. Of the 335,000 people referred to these services, 71 % actually made a quit attempt.

Manual and routine professions are the most represented, accounting for 21.7% of quit attempts (around 52,000 people).

They are followed by people who have never worked or have been unemployed for more than a year, who represent 35,402 cases (14.9 % of all attempts to quit), then retirees who represent 35,036 cases (14.7 % of all attempts to quit), then people who are sick or disabled and unable to return to work represent 31,566 cases (13.3 % of all attempts to quit).

It therefore appears that people in a precarious situation or far from the job market are the most represented among smokers who want to quit.

Additionally, more women have attempted to quit smoking (171,734) than men (151,370), the largest number of quit attempts are from the 45-59 age group (34.7% of all attempts), and of those who have set a quit date in 2024-25, 192,597 (80.9% of all attempts) are Caucasian and the second most represented ethnicity is Asian or Asian British, with 13,521 people (5.7% of all attempts) having set a quit date.

Health experts call for continued efforts through 2030

John Waldron, head of public policy at Action on Smoking and Health, highlighted the importance of these findings: “ It's encouraging to see more people accessing local stop-smoking services and successfully quitting. People using these services are three times more likely to quit than those who try on their own. These results demonstrate what can be achieved with sustained investment and quality support. As we celebrate 25 years of these services, it's essential to continue this commitment to help more and more smokers quit for good. ".

Speaking about the publication of NHS England's statistics, David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Committee, said: " Local authorities have led the way in tackling the harms of smoking, and these latest statistics demonstrate the success of stop-smoking services over the past 25 years, which have led to a steady decline in smoking rates. […] We know that smoking remains a leading cause of preventable illness, disability, and death among adults in England. It puts additional pressure on our health and care systems and affects the quality of life of local people, both smokers and non-smokers. […] Council public health teams continue to work hard in their communities to help smokers quit and support the collective ambition of a smoke-free generation by 2030. There is no doubt that this has saved countless lives, while reducing costs to the NHS and social care. […] The increase in the number of people using these services is a positive sign that more people are coming forward for help, recognising the value of local, specialist support in their efforts to quit smoking. »[2].

For its part, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) estimated in November 2024 that achieving a tobacco-free generation would not be possible before 2039, smoking remaining significant among precarious populations with 21.4 % of English manual workers declaring themselves smokers, and called for more targeted measures for these populations.

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[1]ASH, New figures show record increase in people quitting with local stop smoking services, published July 24, 2025, accessed July 25, 2025

[2]Local.gov.uk, Stop Smoking Services — a public health success, published July 24, 2025, accessed July 25, 2025

National Committee Against Smoking |