Recently published data shows that the number of people trying to quit smoking with the help of Humber and North Yorkshire Stop Smoking Services has increased by over one-third compared to last year.
Stop Smoking Services play an important role in national and local ambitions to achieve a smokefree England. They offer a combination of free behavioural support from trained advisors alongside access to stop smoking medications and other products such as vapes. Stop Smoking Services are proven to be three times as effective in helping smokers to quit, when compared to going it alone.
Data from NHS England shows that 34% more smokers set a quit date with our local Humber and North Yorkshire Stop Smoking Services in the first 6 months of 2025/26 compared to the same period in the previous year. 3,064 smokers set a quit date with their support in 2025/26 up until the end of September. This is over 770 more people taking a positive step towards a smokefree future when compared to 2024/25.
Over half of the people accessing Humber and North Yorkshire Stop Smoking Services were recorded to be smokefree after 4 weeks – with 1,572 successfully quitting. That’s 51% of everyone who set a formal quit date with support.
The rise in people using Stop Smoking Services locally is significantly higher than the increase nationally, where there has been an 18% increase in the number of people setting a quit date. Across Yorkshire and Humber as whole, there has been a 22% increase this year compared to 2024/25.
Smoking remains the single biggest preventable killer, responsible for an estimated 64,000 deaths a year across England. In Humber and North Yorkshire alone, where there remain around 162,000 adult smokers, with smoking estimated to cost the region £1.39 billion a year, including £62.7m in healthcare costs and £477m in social care costs.
Martyn Willmore, Head of Preventable Risk Factors within the Humber and North Yorkshire Centre for Excellence in Tobacco Control said:
“It is really positive to see the latest increase in the number of people accessing our world-leading Stop Smoking Services so far this year. Using these services gives people the very best chance of quitting successfully. Quitting smoking will not only improve their health but also help people save a significant amount of money. On average, tobacco is estimated to cost each smoker around £2,300 a year.
“The additional national investment into Stop Smoking Services over the last 18 months has been shown to be effective in helping services reach more smokers and provide their life-saving support. This will play an important role in helping us to achieve our vision of a smokefree England. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill which is currently proceeding through parliament sets out a range of new measures which will encourage even more adult smokers to quit and dissuade more young people from becoming addicted to tobacco.”
For help to quit today, get in touch with your local stop smoking service here: Ways To Quit – Local Services – Yes To Quit
