Attempts to quit smoking down for 11th consecutive year

Smokers in Scotland made fewer attempts to give up their habit last year – with the number of quit attempts falling for the 11th consecutive year.

Figures show there were 26,954 quit attempts made with the help of NHS Stop Smoking Services in Scotland in 2022-23, down 14.1% from the previous year’s total of 31,365.

The number of attempts was 77.8% lower than the peak year for smokers to try to give up, with 121,385 attempts made in 2011-12.

The figures came in a report from Public Health Scotland, which stressed that “smoking remains a major cause of poor health in Scotland”.

The Scottish Government wants to cut the number of people who smoke to just 5% by 2034, with this said to be a “key objective”.

The 2022 Scottish Health Survey found 18% of men and 13% of women were smokers.

Of the 26,594 quit attempts made with NHS support in the last year, 12,444 (46.2%) reported they were still not smoking at four weeks.

This fell to 8,119 (30.1%) at 12 weeks.

The figures also report a drop in quit attempts by mothers-to-be, with pregnant women making 942 attempts in 2022-23 – down 12.9% from the previous year, and the 10th year in a row the number of has fallen.

However Public Health Scotland noted that “overall, the percentage of successful four and 12-week quit attempts among pregnant women has been increasing since 2011”.

It added that of 942 quit attempts made by pregnant women in 2022-23, more than half (53.7%) were successful at four weeks, up slightly from 52.5% the previous year.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Stopping smoking at any time is one of the best things people can do for their health and it’s important that people who want to stop smoking have access to the right support at the right time.

“While smoking rates have dropped and fewer people are starting to smoke, the pandemic saw a decline in the number of people quitting and using free NHS stop-smoking services. Our tobacco and vaping framework renews our commitment to these services.

“We are committed to working with our NHS co-ordinators and pharmacy colleagues across Scotland to refocus and remobilise services to ensure we are reaching the people in our communities who are most in need of support to quit.”