Publication, Part of Statistics on Local Stop Smoking Services in England
Statistics on Local Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2025 to March 2026 (Q4, Annual)
Official statistics
Part 1 - Quit attempts and self-reported quit rates by demographic variables
This section of the report presents information on the number of quit attempts and self-reported quit rates by a range of demographic variables.
Gender identity
Number of quit attempts
An approximately equal number of women attempted to quit in 2025/26 (129,758) to men (129,048).
Self-reported quit rate
Men had a higher self-reported quit rate than women (54.6% and 51.8% respectively) but similar CO validated quit rates (men 12.6%, women 11.7%).
Age
Number of quit attempts
There was no clear pattern by age. The largest number of quit attempts came from the 45-59 year old age group (34.4% of all attempts).
Self-reported quit rate
The self-reported quit rate increased with age, reaching 56.0% for those aged 60 and over.
Ethnicity
Number of quit attempts
Of those setting a quit date in 2025/26, 212,440 (80.0%) were of a White ethnicity.
The next most represented ethnicity was Asian or Asian British, with 14,308 (5.4%) of those setting a quit date.
Self-reported quit rate
The self-reported quit rate by ethnic category ranged from 53.8% for 'White' to 50.7% for 'Black or Black British'.
Men/women split by ethnicity
The proportion of those setting a quit date by gender varies across ethnic groups. For 'Asian or Asian British', 78.5% of those attempting to set a quit date were men. For 'White', women made up 51.9% of those setting a quit date.
Socio-economic classification
Number of quit attempts
Socio-economic classification has been determined by smoking cessation advisors using a methodology adapted for use in NHS Smoking Cessation Services. For more details about socio-economic classification, please consult the Notes & Definitions section of Stop Smoking Services Q4 2025/26 data tables.
The largest number of quit attempts came from 'Routine and manual occupations' (52,653). The next most represented group, with 41,697 quit attempts, was 'Never worked or unemployed for over 1 year'.
Self-reported quit rate
The self-reported quit rates varies across socio-economic groups, ranging from 95.2% for 'Prisoner' to 46.2% for 'Full time students'.
Region
Number of quit attempts
The South East and London had the highest number of quit attempts (40,726 and 39,704 respectively). The North east had the lowest (18,115).
Self-reported quit rate
The self-reported quit rate was highest in Yorkshire and Humber (61.8%) and lowest in the South West (46.4%).
Pregnant women
Number of quit attempts
5,653 pregnant women set a quit date in 2025/26. This is a 15.2% decrease on 2024/25 (6,665). The figure for 2025/26 is the lowest in the last 13 years.
Self-reported quit rate
For pregnant women, the self-reported quit rate was 53.6% in 2025/26, which is an increase compared to 2024/25 (48.7%), and is higher than any other year since 2013/14. The CO validated quit rate has increased for the fifth consecutive year. For 2025/26 the CO validated quit rate was 30.9%, rising from 2.1% in 2020/21.
Last edited: 23 July 2026 9:31 am