GLASGOW'S efforts to improve the health of people in the city has been given a massive boost, with thousands more smokers quitting the habit in the last year.

Figures show Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire health areas had the highest rate of smokers signing up to kick the habit, with more than 50,000 using smoking cessation services last year.

The number of pregnant women giving up has more than doubled after health officials and midwives encouraged more women to quit.

An additional 5000 attempts at quitting were made in the Glasgow area last year and another 5000 in Lanarkshire, with about one in three successful in stubbing out smoking.

More detailed analysis shows people in deprived areas were more likely to attempt to quit than smokers in better off areas.

More than 32,000 quit attempts were recorded by NHS Greater Glasgow And Clyde and 17,500 by NHS Lanarkshire – an increase of 12.5% and 14% respectively.

The figures show more people trying to quit and more people still not smoking after one month.

Overall in Glasgow 4.3% of the smoking population had quit.

Health campaigners and Scottish Government ministers have been pushing for more people to give up smoking.

AND the Evening Times Clear The Air campaign also offers encouragement and advice for smokers who want to quit.

More than double the number of pregnant women signed up to quit with the help of specialist services in the NHS Greater Glasgow And Clyde area last year, while in NHS Lanarkshire the figure rose 12%.

Across Scotland 46% more women tried to stop than last year.

However, overall only a quarter of pregnant smokers in Scotland attempted to quit, despite smoking being the biggest preventable cause of miscarriage and infant death.

Almost 8% of miscarriages are attributable to smoking, and lighting up while pregnant increases the risk of sudden infant death by up to five times.

One-to-one support is among the help offered by Smokefree Pregnancy Services in Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

Nearly one in five women in the Glasgow area smoke while pregnant, with the same high number also lighting up in Lanarkshire.

Glasgow has set a target of reducing the number of mums-to-be who continue to light up by 7%, while Lanarkshire also wants to drive down figures.

That could save the lives of 13 Glasgow babies every year and reduce the number of infants born with a low birth weight by almost 200.

At their initial antenatal visit, all pregnant women are given a carbon-monoxide test.

If their levels indicate they are a smoker or are exposed to second-hand smoke, they are referred to a specialist stop-smoking adviser for pregnancy.

Politicians and health officials were pleased with the progress the figures showed.

Michael Matheson, Minister For Public Health, said: "In 2011 we saw the largest ever increase in Scots trying to stop smoking, which is the biggest single step anyone can take to improve their health.

"I welcome that one in 10 smokers – more than 100,000 people in Scotland – took advantage of NHS Scotland's stop smoking services last year, with the largest number from our most deprived areas.

"It is also encouraging to see the number of pregnant women trying to quit, increasing nearly 50%.

"We know most smokers want to quit and enjoy the many health, social and economic benefits of being a non-smoker."

Fiona Dunlop, of NHS Greater Glasgow And Clyde, said: "We are delighted at the performance, particularly seeing an increase in quit attempts from last year to this year.

"We are particularly pleased with the increase in uptake for Smokefree Pregnancy Services.

"Over the year we reorganised our services and the benefits are now being seen.

"Over 50% of people come from the most deprived communities, where the highest smoking rates are so it is really important to attract people from those communities to our services."

THE Evening Times Clear The Air campaign, run in conjunction with NHS Greater Glasgow And Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire, aims to highlight the risks of Scotland's biggest killer and help you quit smoking for good.

Every day, 36 smokers in Scotland die from illnesses such as lung cancer, mouth cancer, strokes and heart disease. Then there is the harm caused to others by secondhand smoke, not to mention the spiralling cost.

For help to stop smoking see our website at www.eveningtimes.co.uk/cleartheair or call Smokeline on 0800 848484.

Find us on Facebook by searching for Clear The Air and Twitter bit.ly/etclearair

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