A UNITED effort to stop smoking is under way in Oxfordshire as addicts try to kick the habit for the annual 'Stoptober' campaign.

The nationwide campaign – which aims to get smokers to stop for 28 days in October – has risen to prominence in recent years, and is being backed by public health bosses in Oxfordshire.

Solutions4Health CEO Kishore Sankla and county council cabinet member for public health Hilary Hibbert-Biles said it was still not too late to join in.

Mr Sankla said: “Research shows that smokers are four times more likely to quit successfully when they have professional support.

“Our four-week quitter’s programme gives smokers the best possible chance of quitting for good.”

Almost 18 per cent of Oxfordshire adults are smokers and smoking remains the nation’s biggest killer, with half of long-term smokers dying prematurely from diseases such as lung cancer.

Among scores of people taking part in the county is 31-year-old Simon Grove-White, an analyst for Oxfordshire County Council.

Mr Grove-White, an East Oxford resident, has been smoking for 15 years, and has very good reasons for giving up.

He said: “I will soon be a dad and I want to see my children grow up.

“I’ve also heard that cigarette smoke on your clothes can be the cause of cot death for babies. I would never take the risk just for a cigarette – I had to stop.

“I am also motivated because of my wife.

“She has given up the occasional drink so that we can have a healthy child and yet I still have the odd pint and smoke.

“I want to be in solidarity with her for the last few months of her pregnancy. I should have done it before but it’s better late than never.”