National Health Service (NHS) helped a considerable number of people to quit within last year, according to collected data.

The NHS Information Centre stated that 373,964 people have stopped smoking, approximately an 11% rise from the 337,054 who quitted in 2008/09.

Another report from the centre shows that around one in 20 hospital admissions for over-35s were related to smoking.

The NHS Information Centre collected data from a wide range of recently published material and declared that smoking constituted for 462,900 admissions.

A considerable rate of people who stopped smoking was observed three years ago after a ban on smoking in public places was implemented.

For example a ban implemented in England and Wales in 2007 was considered as the main reason why more and more people tried to quit that year. Similar ban was implemented in Scotland in 2006.

About 65% of those people who tried to quit used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and 47% of them were successful.

Almost a quarter of them used the doubtful stop-smoking drug varenicline (Champix) last year; more did so in 2008/09. 60% of them realized to stop smoking due to the drug. Of those who haven’t use any kind of drug therapy, 49% were able to give up.

The NHS stop smoking services spent under £83.9m last year, up £10m from 2008/09. On each quitter they spent £224, an increase of 3% from the previous year.

There was registered wide variation in quit rates across England. The highest number of people who stopped smoking was registered by Redbridge Primary Care Trust, with 70%. The lowest numbers were registered in Lambeth PCT and Blackburn with Darwen PCT, where only 31% of smokers who tried were able to quit.

“At present NHS Stop Smoking Services are helping more people to stop smoking using various means of offering support. Tacking into account the increasing number of hospital admissions among those who are 35 and over, it is very important to give them support in such difficult thing as quitting and help them remain as healthy as possible,” NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan stated.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley approved these stop smoking services, but stated that more could be done.

“Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in England. Now we want to find how to overcome this problem in the context of a new priority aiming at public health with the help of government and this department,” Andrew Lansley declared.

“Definitely this is the contrary of the nanny state. These are people who want to stop smoking and they understand that if they get professional help from the NHS the chances to quit are more real,” Martin Dockrell, director of policy and research at the charity Action on Smoking and Health declared