Anti-smoking campaign launched by Public Health Wales
The campaign offers practical support through 'Help Me Quit’s' smoking cessation services
Last updated 31st Dec 2025
The benefits of giving up smoking are being highlighted in a new Public Health Wales campaign, aiming to help people make 2026 the year they quit smoking.
Break Its Hold focuses on the 'real-life challenges' smokers face—whether it’s stress at work, carving out “me time,” or improving quality of life. The campaign offers practical support through Help Me Quit’s free, expert-led smoking cessation services.
Evidence by Public Health Wales shows that structured NHS support can help significantly to increase the chances of success.
"Help Me Quit offers free, expert-led advice, tailored to their needs, at a time and place that suits them—plus FREE Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) or other stop-smoking medication."
The average cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes is now £16.45, so someone smoking a pack a day spends over £115 a week, that’s around £6000 a year.
Smoking remains the single greatest preventable cause of disease and deaths in Wales
Between 2020 and 2022, an average of 3,845 deaths among adults aged 35 and over were attributable to smoking—more than one in ten of all deaths in this population.
Over the same period, smoking caused more than 17,000 hospital admissions every year, illustrating the tremendous burden smoking places on healthcare services in Wales.
The health body says "we need to make it easier for people to live well and for tobacco products not to be seen as a normal part of daily life. The challenge remains significant".
Mary-Ann McKibben, Consultant in Public Health says, “Smoking continues to harm thousands of lives in Wales every year—but change is happening.
"Fewer people are smoking than ever before, and with the right support, even more smokers can be part of that positive trend.
"We’re urging people to make this a New Year’s resolution that they stick to and we know that using our free expert-led advice will help them do that. Public Health Wales wants to help people live longer, healthier lives.
"To do this, our expert Help Me Quit advisers are available to support people to quit smoking for good.”
The National Survey for Wales reported that 10% of adults smoked in 2024–25, still representing tens of thousands of people at risk.