A NEW campaign has been launched to help more smokers across the district stub out the habit.

Behind the initiative is Cancer Research UK, with the backing of Bradford Council.

The venture aims to highlight problems smokers suffer from and direct people to local stop smoking services.

Posters are being distributed and radio and social media adverts have been produced.

Stop smoking services offer specialist support and medication to help smokers have the best chance of quitting.

They offer free one-to-one or group support and tailored stop-smoking programmes.

Sessions usually start about a fortnight before a person actually quits.

In Yorkshire, around one in five people smoke, which is higher than the national average of one in six, and the rate of deaths caused by smoking is also above average.

Councillor Val Slater, deputy leader of Bradford Council and executive member for health and wellbeing, said: “Many smokers know they should stop and want to, some may have tried to quit previously via willpower alone and failed.

“For a variety of reasons, we know a lot of smokers feel it is just too difficult for them to give up for good.

"With help from one of our stop smoking advisors in Bradford, offering support and advice, you will have the best chance of quitting for good.

"You’re around three times more likely to stop smoking if you use a local stop smoking service rather than going it alone, and the proof is there with hundreds of former smokers quitting permanently after using the Bradford district stop smoking service ”

George Butterworth, Cancer Research UK’s tobacco control manager, added: “We can’t forget that tobacco is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer.

"It is linked to at least 14 different types of the disease including most lung cancers – the leading cause of cancer deaths in Yorkshire and the Humber.

"We believe that every smoker should have access to the most effective method of giving up smoking, which is available through specialist stop smoking services.

"At Cancer Research UK we have a vision for the future – a tobacco-free UK where, by 2035, fewer than one in 20 people smoke.

"If we are to realise this ambition, then it is vital to help smokers beat their addiction for good. That’s why we’re running this campaign and why we’re also working hard to protect local stop smoking services from further Government budget cuts."

The three-week campaign is targetting Bradford district and 11 other towns and cities across the region.

It is raising awareness of the effectiveness of stop smoking services and how to access them.

To find a stop smoking advisor, visit nhs.uk/smokefreelocal or contact the Bradford District Stop Smoking Service on 01274 437700.