COI - Dept of Health - Anti-smoking; Tobacco Control: A new approach to an old problem

This paper tells how the Department of Health has taken a novel approach to one of society’s oldest ills. In particular, how the Department successfully engaged a new ‘routine and manual’ audience – a group of more entrenched and addicted smokers. An improved two-pronged strategy was developed, focusing on the emotional harm to the smoker’s family, and portraying the NHS as a supportive and non-judgemental environment which can help smokers quit more successfully. This halted an alarming decline in motivation and directly stimulated over 3m quit attempts. A new channel strategy was devised, making greater use of direct response techniques and community partnerships and directing quitters towards NHS support services. Over two years, the CRM programme increased quitting success rates among participants by 57%, the payback was increased by 54% and the cost-per-quit was reduced by nearly a third.