Figures show fewer people giving up smoking in Blackpool

Data from 2013/14, when the town had a smoking cessation service, shows 1,350 smokers gave up cigarettes for at least four weeks.

But in 2018/19, the number had plunged to just 142.

Health chiefs have blamed the withdrawal of funding for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for the drop.

While pregnant women and hospital in-patients still get NRT for free, other smokers must pay for the service themselves, while there is also less support from GPs to help people give up cigarettes.

A report to the council's adult social care and health scrutiny committee, says recent data "shows that only a few GP and pharmacy providers are supporting residents and that the uptake of support and four-week quit rates are extremely low."

Contracts with the Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to run the smoking cessation service were axed in 2016, saving the council’s public health service £20,000 a year.

Dr Amanda Doyle, chief clinical officer for Blackpool and Fylde and Wyre CCGs, said GPs were continuing to support smokers but did not always follow up to see if patients had given up smoking.

She said: "The bit GPs don't engage with is the paperwork around contacting people to see if they have given up.

"They see there is no advantage in doing that, but they haven't stopped the intervention.

"There is lots of evidence that intervention from your GP or health care provider does make a difference."

The meeting heard around a third of smokers who reach four weeks without lighting up go on to give up smoking completely, and on average it takes people 13 attempts to quit tobacco.

Blackpool's director of public health Dr Arif Rajpura said: "The message is don't give up giving up. If you can give up for four weeks you are more likely to have a sustained change in behaviour."

The council's public health team is now working with CCGs to introduce a universal service to help more people stop smoking.