Fall In Number Of Smokers Trying To Quit

The number of people attempting to stop smoking in Northern Ireland has failed, official figures have revealed.

In the period 2018/19, 13,860 smokers set a quit date using smoking cessation services, 10% less (1,601) than the previous year.

The Department of Health also recorded a decline in the amount of people seeking help to quit over the last five years.

At the four-week follow-up period, 58% of those setting a quit date (8,032) reported having successfully quit, a figure that has remained steady since 2014/15. The success rate was 60% for males and 56% for females.

Of the 240 young people (aged 11 to 17) who set a quit date, 38% reported to have successfully quit at the four-week follow-up, 42% indicated that they were still smoking, and 21% could not be contacted for the follow-up.

Success at four weeks increased with age, from 38% for those aged 11 to 17, to 62% for those aged 60 and over, indicating that younger people who set out to quit were less likely to have done so.

The statistical bulletin shows that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) was the most popular therapeutic intervention, with 70% of those who set a quit date having used this therapy.



(JG/CM)