THE number of people trying to quit smoking in East Lancashire has rocketed since the ban on lighting up in public places, new figures have revealed.

Hundreds of people across Blackburn, Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Hyndburn have taken the opportunity to try and ditch cigarettes since the ban became law on July 1.

In Blackburn with Darwen the number of people wanting to quit smoking was 411 between June and August 2006. For the same period this year the figure was 890.

And in East Lancashire Primary Care Trust's area, covering Burnley, Pendle Rossendale, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, the impact has been even more marked.

In 2006 numbers for the three-month period were 548 and this had risen to 1,249 this year.

Gina Turner, 27, from Earby, a communications officer for Lancashire Constabulary, is one of the smokers has quit since July 1.

She said: "I smoked for 10 years and would smoke 20 cigarettes a day.

"I tried everything, including patches, but they all failed.

"With the smoking ban, you have to go outside, away from your friends, stood in the cold, and it makes you feel alienated.

"This encouraged me stop smoking. Now when I go out I don't even feel the urge to smoke while I'm drinking - it would be too much of a chore."

The figures have been welcomed by public health chiefs in East Lancashire.

A spokesman for East Lancashire PCT's smoking cessation service said: "It was busy here prior to the ban being introduced.

"It has been busier this year than the previous year and the amount of telephone calls we have received from members of the public has increased also."

Dr Ellis Friedman, public health director for East Lancashire PCT, said that studies in Scotland, since a smoking ban was introduced there in July 2006, showed that the number of heart attacks had dropped significantly.

He said: "People were expecting some sort of effect but not this quickly.

"The only reason that people could find for this kind of improvement was the introduction of the smoking ban."

A spokesman for the Smoke Free England campaign, the public body behind the smoking ban campaign, said the results mirrored those found wherever legislation had been introduced, such as Ireland, Scotland and New York.

"We have worked very closely with the Department of Health to give people the opportunity, as a result of the legislation, to quit smoking if that was what they wished to do, and we are pleased to hear, anecdotally, that these figures bear this out," he added.

Martin Dockrell, policy manager for anti-smoking group ASH, said: "It is very promising news that more people are trying to quit smoking.

"The really encouraging news is that 70 per cent of smokers want to stop and that smoke-free workplaces, pubs and resturants have made this easier.

"We are delighted that people are going to expert quit services in East Lancashire.

"People can really profit from sharing advice with other people to help them stop."