Quit targets met in smoking drive

Efforts to help people living in some of the most deprived areas of Scotland to stop smoking appear to be having an impact, according to new figures.

In deprived communities 70,162 people said they had successfully given up smoking for at least a month between April 2011 and March 2014.

The figure surpasses a target set by the Scottish Government for 48,000 people in Scotland’s poorest areas to quit.

A majority (59%) of the 322,285 people who attempted to give up the habit over the three-year period were from the most deprived areas of the country.

NHS smoking secession services recorded positive results throughout Scotland, with a total of 124,734 people saying they had quit for at least a month.

That exceeds a target for at least 80,000 successful quits by more than half (56%).

Over the three-year period, only one health board, NHS Orkney, failed to meet its target for the number of people giving up smoking.

Public health minister Michael Matheson said: “While it’s encouraging to see target numbers exceeded, we are not complacent.

“Smoking rates are higher in deprived areas, contributing to health inequalities.

“We will continue to work to reach out to people in these communities and to help them to quit.

“We have also introduced a new target for NHS Scotland to support successful quits in our most deprived communities.”

The new target aims to achieve 12,000 successful quits in the most deprived areas of Scotland in the year to March 2015.

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/quit-targets-met-smoking-drive-104911934.html

Quit targets met in smoking drive