RAISING people's standards of living would help them give up smoking, Health Secretary John Reid said this week.

He said it would take more than a ban on smoking in public places to make people quit the habit.

Smokers also needed to eat healthier and exercise, he said.

Dr Reid was speaking during a visit to the Royal Bolton Hospital.

In Bolton, 29 per cent of people smoke, compared with the national average of 26 per cent.

The Bolton Evening News has launched a Stub It Out Campaign calling for a ban on smoking in public places.

Dr Reid says he wants to reduce the proportion of people in the country who smoke to 20 per cent by 2010.

A Government White Paper released at the end of last year said all pubs serving food, restaurants and factory canteens would become no-smoking areas from 2006.

But it fell short of banning smoking from all workplaces, including pubs.

Dr Reid said: "Bans won't ultimately solve the smoking problem; the 26 per cent of people who smoke in England and Wales have to want to give up.

"We need to be getting into communities who need the most assistance.

"We recognise that for some people to change their smoking habits, they have to change their lifestyle and that is more difficult for some than others.

"It's one thing to tell someone they need to eat fresh vegetables five times a week, but another if that person does not have a shop nearby selling fresh vegetables or has transport problems in their area to get to a shop that does.

"If a person has lots of money and no children, that would be no problem but its harder for a single parent of three children to change their lifestyle.

"As people's standard of living gets better, those people are less inclined to smoke.

"We want to reduce the number of smokers down to 20 per cent across all classes and reach everyone.

"We have to make sure the encouragement and expertise is there for people to give up smoking and we are doing this through smoking cessation services and extensive advertising."