HEALTH bosses spent almost a grand on anti-smoking therapies for each person who successfully quit last year.

Figures released by the NHS this week reveal that £327,000 was spent on services, therapies and drugs designed to stop people smoking in 2016-17.

However, of the 1,070 people who set themselves a date by which time they planned to stop smoking, just 330 said that they had successfully quit. The previous year, 605 said they had quit.

It means that last year £991 was spent for each smoker who quit – up £150 on the previous year.

When you take into account all those who approached the council about setting a date to quit smoking, each would-be quitter cost taxpayers £306.

According to the NHS figures, only five other local authority areas spent more on each successful quitter.

In Swindon, smoking services are funded by Swindon Borough Council’s public health team.

Last year, the council allocated £172,000 to services intended to tackle smokers. Drug therapies cost a further £181,000.

Over a third of those who said they had quit were prescribed anti-nicotine drug Vareniciline. The prescription medicine targets the nerve receptors in the brain that register smoking as pleasurable.

A total of 114 successful quitters used a range of licensed “Nicotine-Containing Products”, such as patches and chewing gums.

However, 30 out of a total of 330 successful quitters took no medications at all.

Cherry Jones, Director of Public Health at Swindon Borough Council, said: “Smoking continues to be the biggest preventable cause of ill health and early death as well as the leading cause of health inequality.

“Supporting people to quit smoking is a priority in Swindon and during 2016-17 we have redesigned the Swindon stop smoking services to make them more accessible for those that need them and reflect the way that people want support to quit smoking.

“Smoking is an addiction which often begins in childhood and we know that the majority of people who smoke want to quit.”

In Swindon, the proportion of people who smoke has halved since 2007. Around 15 per cent of Swindon residents are smokers.

The town has the lowest proportion of young smokers in the South West, with just 7.5 per cent taking up smoking, the council said.

Coun Brian Ford, Cabinet Member for Adults’ Health and Social Care, said: “The Council continues to invest in services to support people to quit smoking in Swindon.”

For information and details of support to quit smoking contact the Livewell Swindon team on 01793 465513 or email livewell@swindon.gov.uk.