Online chat to help smokers quit

NHS Scotland wants to reach more potential quitters

Smokers will be able to chat to health advisors on the internet to help them quit the habit, as part of the latest NHS Scotland campaign.

Advisors will be available at the Can Stop Smoking website every day between 1800 and 2000 BST.

Kerry McKenzie, of NHS Scotland, said the new service offered an alternative to the telephone helpline, for people who were more comfortable with the web.

"We're always looking at new ways to reach potential quitters," she said.

An interactive text messaging service will also be introduced later in the year.

'Vital step'

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said the government was introducing a range of measures designed to make smoking less accessible and less attractive.

She said: "As well as discouraging young people from starting to smoke in the first place - by raising the age for buying cigarettes to 18 and legislating to restrict display of tobacco products - we're also helping existing smokers to quit.

"The Smokeline telephone advice line has proved popular in the past and I'm sure that making use of new technology will enable even more people to access these services and take the first vital step to becoming a non-smoker."