Yorkshire Smokefree is celebrating 25 years of stop smoking services in Barnsley, Calderdale, Doncaster, Sheffield and Wakefield
1999 – NHS stop smoking services are launched in Health Action Zones in 1999 in England.
2001 - Stop smoking services are rolled out to all English health authorities.
2002 - British parliament passes legislation, banning tobacco advertising.
1 July 2007 - England’s smoking ban comes into force, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed workplaces.
October 2007 – Legal smoking age rises from 16 to 18.
October 2008 - UK becomes the first EU nation to introduce picture health warning on all tobacco packaging.
March 2011 - The coalition government announces a new tobacco plan for England, which sets out national ambitions to reduce smoking rates among all adults from 21.2% to 18.5% by the end of 2015.
October 2012 – ‘Stoptober’ is launched for the first time by the Department of Health.
February 2014 - Smoking rates in the UK fall below 20% for the first time in 80 years.
April 2015 - A ban on displaying tobacco in small shops comes into force throughout the UK.
October 2015 - Legislation comes into force in England and Wales banning smoking in cars with people under the age of 18 present.
September 2016 - Public Health England announces that adult smoking rates in England have fallen to 16.9% at the launch of annual ‘Stoptober’ campaign.
July 2017 – 1 July marks the ten year anniversary of the implementation of smokefree legislation in England.
July 2018 - 14.4% of adults in England smoke, down from 14.9% the previous year – a drop of almost 175,000. There are almost two million fewer smokers now than in 2011.
March 2023- Yorkshire Smokefree began offering vapes as a cessation tool to help smokers quit. All five Yorkshire Smokefree services now offer vapes.
June 2024 - Yorkshire Smokefree launched their new website, the results have been amazing if you haven’t seen it, yet it can be found here:
2025 - 25 years of stop smoking services and Yorkshire Smokefree are still very successful at helping our communities quit! 69% of our service users are still quit at four weeks post their quit date.
Call 0800 612 0011 (free from a landline) or 0330 660 1166 Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm and Saturdays between 9am until 4.30pm
