Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England - April 2015 to September 2015

England - April to September 2015 ^a

Outcomes

• 175,911 people set a quit date through NHS Stop Smoking Services and at the 4 week follow-up 88,726 people (50 per cent) had successfully quit (self-reported)^b.

   

• 71 per cent of successful quitters (self-reported)^b had their results confirmed by Carbon Monoxide (CO) verification^c.

   

• Of those setting a quit date, success increased with age, from 42 per cent of those aged under 18, to 57 per cent of those aged 60 and over.

   

• Slightly more Females than Males set a quit date in all ages groups with the exception of 35 to 44 year olds and Males had a slightly higher self-reported success rate in all age groups.

   

• Of the 8,133 pregnant women who set a quit date, 3,711 successfully quit (self-reported)^b (46 per cent). Of these 62 per cent had their results confirmed by CO verification^c.

Geographical Patterns

• Among the nine regions, Yorkshire and the Humber reported the highest proportion of successful quitters (self-reported)^b (57 per cent), whilst the North East reported the lowest success rate (44 per cent)^d.

   

• Of the 145 Local Authorities (LAs) who submitted data, Warrington Borough Council reported the highest proportion of successful quitters (self-reported)^b (80 per cent) followed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council and Peterborough (both 78 per cent). In contrast, London Borough of Newham Council reported the lowest success rate (28 per cent) with Blackpool Borough Council and Dorset being the next lowest (both 32 per cent)^d.

Treatment and Expenditure

• 'One-to-one support' (141,246) was the most widely used Intervention Type^e and had a success rate of 49 per cent. Whilst 'telephone support' was used by far fewer quitters (4,412) but had the highest success rate at 61 per cent^d.

   

• 'General practice' was the most common Intervention Setting^e with 65,900 people setting a quit date and 31,194 (47 per cent) successfully quitting. A 'Hospital' setting was used by 5,444 people setting a quit date but had the highest success rate, (59 per cent) with 3,192 people successfully quitting^d.

   

• The most common pharmacotherapy received by those setting a quit date was a combination of licensed NCPs concurrently (32 per cent). This compares to 26 per cent who received a single Nicotine Containing Product (NCP) and similarly, 26 per cent who used Varenicline (Champix) only. Seven per cent of people setting a quit date did not receive any pharmacotherapy, and the remaining 9 per cent received another type of pharmacotherapy or the type they received was not known.

   

• There were differences in the proportion successfully quitting by the type of pharmacotherapy received^e, 68 per cent of those who used a 'licensed medication and an unlicensed NCP consecutively' successfully quit. This compares to 61 per cent of those who received an 'Unlicensed NCP' and 60 per cent of those who received Varenicline (Champix) only.

   

• 58 per cent of people setting a quit date (101,204) were eligible to receive free prescriptions and 56 per cent of successful quitters (49,432) were eligible. This gave a success rate of 49 per cent for those eligible to receive free prescriptions.

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Footnotes

1. Not all local authorities returned all data items. No estimates have been made for missing data so national and regional totals presented here will be an underestimate. See data quality statement for more information.
2. A client is counted as a 'self-reported 4-week quitter' if when assessed 4 weeks after the designated quit date, they declare that they have not smoked, even a single puff on a cigarette, in the past two weeks.
3. Carbon Monoxide (CO) validation measures the level of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream and provides an indication of the level of use of tobacco: it is a motivational tool for clients as well as validation of their smoking status. CO validation should be attempted on all clients who self-report as having successfully quit at the 4-week follow-up, except those who were followed up by telephone.
4. Note that these are not standardised rates.
5. These data should not be used to assess or compare the clinical effectiveness of the various pharmacotherapies or intervention types and settings as they reflect only the results obtained through the NHS Stop Smoking Services, and are not based on clinical trials. For example, a particular intervention type may be used more often for heavy smokers which will reduce the quit rate. A trained stop smoking advisor discusses and agrees the treatment option with each client.