IN response to Mike Spragg’s comments (Letters, April 3) about the March 25 article on the costs of smoking in Southampton city, much of the data quoted actually comes from research done and paid for by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

So I can reassure Mike that there are few if any costs to the council tax payers of Southampton. The Joint Strategic Needs Analysis (JSNA) is a statutory obligation that all public health departments across the country must discharge as it is designed to ensure that health care is planned, efficient and meets the particular needs of a local government area.

On behalf of all those working to improve health and reduce unfairness in Southampton, I think the original article highlighted the impact of smoking on the city’s finances.

People may disagree with the specific figures and I am not going to argue about them but what is most important, what is beyond debate, is that smoking remains a major cause of serious long-term ill health and premature death.

With over 40,000 smokers in the city, every day somewhere in the city there are families and communities who suffer the loss of valued relatives, friends and colleagues and others who watch helplessly as people they love succumb to serious ill health caused by years of smoking. This is not about a nanny state but about the real cost of smoking.

The good news for smokers is that there is now more help than ever for those that want to stop.

The evidence shows that this is a very effective use of public money as not only does it save lives but, by reducing the risks of people developing cancer or heart disease, it reduces the cost pressures on the NHS now and in the future.

For anyone who is now wondering about stopping smoking or who knows someone that wants to quit, there is FREE and friendly stop smoking NHS service locally.

Quitters, run by Solent NHS Trust, has professional and fully trained Stop Smoking advisors who are waiting to help make it easy for smokers to stop smoking.

This could be the best call that smokers ever make and we are looking forward to talking to them on 023 8051 5221. Smokers can also text us on 88020 to receive more information about how we can help them to stop.

Sian Howells, Quitters team manager, Solent NHS Trust.