Health services can help people to give up smoking

Assoc Prof Chris Bullen, director of the National Institute for Health Innovation at Auckland University, said that the Quitline to help people kick the habit in his country managed to reduce the number of smokers by 30 per cent over 10 years.

Bullen said the service aimed to make New Zealand a smoke-free country by 2025.

He said the key contribution to the Quitline’s success was every sector in society collaborating in the initiative.

Bullen spoke at the Asean Regional Workshop on Sustainable Funding for Tobacco Control, held in Bangkok on Friday. It was organised by the Thai Health Foundation Promotion and the Southeast Asian Tobacco Control Alliance.