A stop smoking scheme for Norfolk has been taken over by a new organisation, which will be using a mobile phone app and the internet to help people give up cigarettes.
Norfolk County Council has commissioned East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) to deliver Smokefree Norfolk.
People wanting to quit will be able to obtain free advice and support through ECCH's team of specialist advisers as well as in GP surgeries and pharmacies, and via a new mobile phone app and website available soon.
The deal will see ECCH continue to operate the Smokefree Norfolk scheme, part of the national Smokefree public health campaign initiated and supported by Public Health England.
It has been run in Norfolk for the last 16 years.
ECCH has provided a quit smoking service in Great Yarmouth since the social enterprise was launched in 2011 and last year helped 1,000 people in the borough to quit.
The team has also won national awards from the British Heart Foundation for their efforts to encourage people to quit on No Smoking Day for the past two years.
It is estimated that one in five adults in Norfolk smoke. Smoking among the most deprived 20pc of the population is roughly 50pc higher than in the rest of the population.
Julia Whiting, ECCH's director of health improvement and family services, said: 'We have had great results helping people from in and around Great Yarmouth stop smoking in recent years and we are delighted this has been recognised with the opportunity to share our expertise county-wide, and to be welcoming the experienced staff of the current Norfolk service into ECCH.
'The team are passionate about helping people to give up smoking and thereby significantly improve their health, and we are determined to do everything we can to increase the number of people quitting in Norfolk in the next few years.'
Louise Smith, director of public health at Norfolk County Council, said: 'This is a hugely positive move for us. We are delighted that ECCH will now be running the Smokefree Norfolk scheme across the whole county.'
To contact ECCH's stop smoking service email ECCH.stopsmoking@nhs.net or telephone 0800 0854 113.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here