Smoking cessation services are reducing inequalities.

The recent introduction of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill follows a whole range of strategies and subsequent interventions aimed at reducing levels of smoking in the UK. In particular, Smoking kills: a white paper on tobacco has resulted in national investments to develop smoking cessation services both in primary care and through specialist services elsewhere. National guidance on providing such services recommended developing them to meet the needs of local populations and consequently smoking cessation services within each health authority have adopted different delivery models. Although smoking is an important threat to health across all demographics, it disproportionately affects the most deprived and contributes to the gap in life expectancy between those most in need and those most advantaged more than any other identifiable factor. Thus, while the proportion of smokers in more advantaged groups is estimated at 15% for males and 13% for females in the most deprived groups levels are 39% and 34% respectively. Recognising these disparities, a priority for smoking cessation services has been seen as helping people living in the most disadvantaged areas. However, national monitoring of these services is limited with only information on smokers who set quit dates and their success after four weeks being collated. Details of people who access services but do not set quit dates are not routinely recorded. Thus, while smoking cessation services recorded 132 500 smokers across England setting quit dates between April 2000 and March 2001, it is unclear whether services were disproportionately attracting people living in deprived areas and therefore having an impact on inequalities. Here, we analyse data from seven health authorities that collect an enhanced information set on all people (n=22 753) who attend smoking cessation services and examine their ability to attract people from deprived areas along with the overall success of the programme.