BRADFORD Council remains the only local authority in England not to provide data on people quitting smoking, maintaining its stance that using old NHS targets is a waste of taxpayers' money.

According to a report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, the number of people using NHS Stop Smoking Services is in decline, partly attributed to the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes.

The authority's public health team said there was a range of "proven alternatives" to e-cigarettes, but a leading councillor argued it now needs to embrace their "irrefutable" benefits for those wanting to quit.

Nationally, 450,582 people set a quit date through the NHS Stop Smoking Services in 2014/15, down 23 per cent on the previous year.

Of these, 229,688 reported they had quit successfully, a rate of around 51 per cent.

As Bradford Council was the only authority not to supply any data, estimates were used to calculate regional and national totals.

Joanne Nykol, tobacco lead for Bradford Council, reiterated the argument put forward by the authority when the equivalent figures were released last year, that investing in a database to collect and analyse the figures would not be cost-effective.

"The four-week quit rate measures the throughput of smokers using the stop smoking services, rather than reflecting the wider smoking cessation initiatives being carried out, including investment in tackling illegal tobacco, underage sales, and investment in the midwifery-led stop smoking service to address smoking in pregnancy," she said.

"By measuring smoking prevalence, we can get a more accurate picture of how many people are actually smoking in the district."

According to the 2013 Local Authority Health Profile for Bradford, the most current figures available, the smoking prevalence rate across the district was 22.6 per cent, down from 22.8 per cent in 2012.

An evidence review published yesterday by Public Health England (PHE) concluded that e-cigarettes were around 95 per cent less harmful to health than tobacco, adding that local stop smoking services "should look to support" e-cigarette users.

Ralph Saunders, head of public health for Bradford Council, said: "Bradford’s stop smoking service supports all smokers wanting to quit, including those preferring to use e-cigarettes.

"Finding the right way to quit depends on the individual, and getting the support from the stop smoking service is the best way to become smokefree.

"There are a range of proven alternatives to e-cigarettes, and anyone wanting to quit should call 01274 437700 to discover the right way for them."

Councillor Simon Cooke (Cons, Bingley Rural), has previously written to the authority's public health team urging it to become "e-cig friendly."

"The Council has been dragging its heels on this issue for some time," he said.

"It is now abundantly clear that e-cigarettes can make a profound and positive difference.

"The reason smoking in young people is at such a low level is because the market is changing, and that is due to e-cigarettes.

"Instead of being sniffy, the Council should embrace what Public Health England has said, which is that e-cigarettes are a game-changer.

"They can't hide and say there aren't any benefits, as the evidence is now irrefutable."