MANY Bolton smokers pledged to try to break the habit during yesterday's National No Smoking Day.

A borough-wide smoking cessation programme is set to get underway which will target the thousands of people in Bolton and Wigan addicted to tobacco.

Cash and manpower are being pumped into the service, thought to be one of the first of its kind in the country, and at the helm will be a smoking cessation service team leader who will be working with advisers in both boroughs.

The service will cover both sexes in all age groups and will look at the growing prevalence of smoking among teenage girls and the continued smoking among pregnant women.

Advisers will work with groups on a one to one basis and will specifically target those who suffer ill health as a result of their smoking. They will even visit hospital wards.

Yesterday, to mark National No Smoking Day, Bolton's Specialist Health Promotion Service teamed up with Boots The Chemist to offer help and advice to people who want to kick the smoking habit.

The Government yesterday announced new help for pregnant women trying to stop smoking. A new national helpline for them will be available later this year.

It will be a major plank in the Government strategy for meeting its Smoking White Paper target to cut smoking among pregnant women from 23pc to 15pc by the year 2010, with a fall to 18pc by the year 2005.

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