MORE than £500,000 was spent trying to help Oxfordshire smokers quit last year, new research suggests.

In total, the county's NHS Stop Smoking Services spent £362,296 between April and December, according to vapourcore.com.

If replicated for the rest of the year, that would mean £543,444 was spent in 2018.

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Data for the eight-month period suggests that around £286 was spent per quitter, with 1,267 reported to have given up in that period.

The spending is slightly more than the nationwide average, with Hampshire forking out some £1,690,046, but the Isles of Scilly a mere £586.

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Between 2011-2017, NHS Digital, Public Health England and ONS reported that the number of smokers in England dropped to around 1.6 million – which is the lowest it has ever been.

Vapourcore analysed the latest findings from the NHS Digital report on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England.