A 'STOP smoking' service is taking to the streets of Oxfordshire at the end of this month to encourage people to stub it out for good.

Smokefreelife Oxfordshire, which is run by county council-appointed experts Solutions 4 Health, will host mobile clinics across the county to mark World No Tobacco Day on Tuesday, May 31. Free nicotine replacement therapy and behavioural support will be offered to people at each event from the 'wellness on wheels' vehicles.

Dr Eunan O’Neill, the county council's consultant in public health, says: “It’s great to support a global campaign like this, spreading the word about the harmful and negative effects of tobacco plus the many health benefits of abstinence.”

Events will be held from 9am to 5pm at Templar's Square Shopping Centre in Cowley and Castle Quay Shopping Centre in Banbury, and Witney marked from 10am to 5pm.

World No Tobacco Day is organised each year by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to promote a 24-hour period of abstinence from tobacco.

Naseem Mushtaq, health improvement manager at Smokefreelife Oxfordshire, “Research has demonstrated that stopping smoking for 24 hours alone can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack and this is the message we’ll be promoting on Tuesday.

“We’ll also take the opportunity to explain the new plain and standardised cigarette packaging regulations, a key World Health Organisation message this year."