The smoking ban has led to a big increase in the number of people in Oxfordshire trying to quit, new figures have revealed.

On July 1 last year, lighting up in public places, including pubs and clubs, was banned.

Managers at Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust said yesterday the ban prompted thousands of people to quit smoking, in the busiest and most successful year to date for the PCT's NHS Stop Smoking Service.

The service helped a total of 6,799 smokers set a quit date in the past year, with 4,063 going on to stop smoking for at least a month.

The overall annual increase in the number of people stopping smoking was 28 per cent.

Laura Wardak, the PCT's smoking cessation co-ordinator, said: "We're really encouraged by the results we have for this year.

"It goes to show that with encouragement and lots of support from the service, people can really make that difference to their lives and their health."

The 28 per cent increase in people quitting smoking in Oxfordshire was well ahead of the national figure of 22 per cent.

A study published today by the Department of Health shows that a total of 234,060 smokers kicked the habit with the help of the NHS Quit Smoking Service since the ban began, a 22 per cent increase on the previous year.

In Oxfordshire, in July last year, after the introduction of smoke-free legislation, the county's Smoking Advice Service helped 551 people to quit, an increase of over 100 per cent on the same month in 2006.

Since the service was established in 2000, it has trained more than 750 Stop Smoking advisers who are able to offer free stop smoking advice and support. They are based in health centres and GPs' surgeries offering one-to-one sessions or running stop smoking groups. Nicotine replacement therapy and other medication is available on prescription.

Pub landlords and real ale campaigners said they thought the smoking ban was partially responsible for a downturn in the pub trade in the county.

Max Tanner, 21, landlord of the Hobgoblin pub, in St Aldate's, Oxford, said its parent company had suffered a 15 per cent downturn in trade in the past 12 months.

He added: "The smoking ban has adversely affected trade, but we have managed to hold our own, because we have a big beer garden which smokers can use.

"It's not just the smoking ban which is harming trade - people's drinking habits are changing. The cheap price of alcohol in supermarkets is another factor."

John Mackie, a spokesman for the Campaign for Real Ale in Oxford, said 14 city pubs had closed in the past two years.

He said: "Some pubs have found it harder to adapt if they have no room for a garden or smoking canopy."

For advice on quitting, call 01865 226663.