'Boost for nation's health' as a third more Scots try to quit smoking

THE number of Scots smokers trying to kick the habit rose by 35 per cent last year, but less than half said they were successful.

Statistics published yesterday show 6.5 per cent of the country's smokers – some 69,882 people – used NHS services in an attempt to quit.

It is a rise of 18,261 on the 4.8 per cent of smokers who made the same attempts in 2008.

But just 38 per cent of those attempting to quit said they managed to do so for a month, while only 15 per cent went more than three months without smoking.

The Scottish government statistics also show only 7 per cent of those looking to quit in 2008 were successful for more than a year. However, Sheila Duffy, chief executive of the public health charity Ash, claimed that more people may have given up than the numbers suggested.

"These statistics reflect only the people that follow-up services could contact," she said. "There will be others who have stayed off cigarettes, and of course many smokers who have quit without the use of NHS services.

"This is all excellent news for improving our nation's health and making us a healthier society."

Women were shown to be more likely to try to stop smoking, with 59 per cent of quit attempts compared with 41 per cent from men.

Those aged between 45 and 59 accounted for 30 per cent of those trying to quit, while the under-25s made up just 9 per cent.

Public health minister Shona Robison praised the figures, saying the Scottish government was providing 11 million a year to help people stop smoking.

"It's good news that we've seen a significant increase in the number of people using NHS services to quit the habit – in 2009, there were 26,485 successful quit attempts, an increase of 31 per cent on 2008," she said.

"We're continuing to do all we can to make cigarettes less attractive and less available."