A GROUP dedicated to persuading people to stop smoking in Bolton has been set a tough target - but it is determined to rise to the challenge.

The Fresh Focus Team, run by the Bolton NHS Primary Care Trust, has until 2006 to meet a Government target of cutting the proportion of people who smoke from 29 per cent of the population to 24 per cent.

Its task is made much harder in areas such as Johnson Fold and Hall i'th' Wood where around two in every three people smoke.

Smoking related illnesses cost the National Health Service hundreds of millions of pounds every year and Bolton residents are among the worst in the country for heart and lung disease.

The Fresh Focus Team manager Deborah Smethurst strongly supports the Bolton Evening News Stub It Out campaign to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants and other public places.

She said there was strong and growing evidence of the dangers of passive smoking.

"The key is not to stop people smoking who want to - but to protect those who choose not to smoke but find themselves in smokey workplaces, unprotected and at risk," she said.

Around 1,000 people a year stop smoking with the help of the Fresh Focus team - but the same people often quit time and time again.

Mrs Smethurst said: "It's relatively easy to quit, the difficulty is staying stopped and that's where we can make a difference.

"We always follow clients up and see the old faces coming back again and again."

She added: "We are not here to wave a big stick. We are here to support people.

"We are getting more and more help groups out into the community, which is important because there are often problems with transport and childcare.

"It also leaves people more comfortable than they would be going to a strange place."

The Fresh Focus Team has recently moved to Hall i'th' Wood in an attempt to work closer with the community.

It also has a presence at the Royal Bolton Hospital and patients who want to quit are provided with support and nicotine patches. The diabetic centre in Chorley Street and the ante-natal clinic has a Fresh Focus worker present for one day a week to encourage mums-to-be to quit.

Community midwives are also trained in smoking issues and how to help new mothers quit and provide a smoke-free home for their baby.

Evidence shows passive smoking increases the risk of asthma and a condition known as "glue ear" in children.

If you would like to stop smoking, telephone Fresh Focus on 01204 360008 or the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0169.