To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on what progress has been made with the Choosing Health White Paper including the delivery of alternative routes and the expansion of choice available to smokers. (183151)

Smokers who want to quit with the support of the national health service now have a wide range of options available. There are over 150 local NHS Stop Smoking Services across England that offer a range of free services in different settings. Stop smoking pharmaceutical aids, including nicotine replacement therapy, are available in many different formats on prescription and can be accessed by young smokers. Smokers can also quit with free support from the NHS Smoking Helpline and Together Programme which provide information, advice and motivation by telephone, email, post or by text message at key moments during the smoker’s quitting process. The NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline and the Asian Tobacco Helpline are also in operation. The NHS makes a wide range of printed materials available on quitting smoking, and the NHS Go Smokefree website at www.nhs.uk/gosmokefree has information and tools to support smokers to quit, and the location of NHS Stop Smoking Services across England.

While the United Kingdom is recognised as a world leader in the provision of stop smoking support, the Department closely monitors international developments in this area. Pilot projects are planned for 2008 to develop new forms of NHS support for smokers who want to quit.