Smoking Cessation Services

HC Deb 05 March 2003 vol 400 c1112W

Dr. Evan Harris

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have for the expansion of smoking cessation services. [100069]

Ms Blears

We have plans for a substantial expansion in National Health Service smoking cessation services, and have allocated £138 million to the NHS over the three years from April 2003 for this purpose.

We have set the NHS a target of 800,000 smokers to have quit at the four week follow-up stage between 2003 and 2006. We have also set a target to reduce by one percentage point a year the smoking prevalence rate for women who continue to smoke throughout pregnancy and a target to update practice based registers so that patients with coronary heart disease continue to receive appropriate advice and treatment.