PUBLIC health bosses say work to help people in the district give-up smoking should be maintained.

The comments came after a Keighley councillor questioned whether public money should continue to be spent on smoking cessation work.

Councillor Paul Godwin ­– who represents Keighley West – said smoking rates had plummeted in recent decades, and he felt that the council and other public bodies were now spending an “inordinate amount of money” trying to convince remaining smokers to quit.

He was speaking at a meeting of Bradford Council’s health scrutiny committee, where members were given an update on smoking in the district and work being done to reduce rates.

A report revealed that across the district, 17.1 per cent of people aged over 15 smoke.

In Bradford district it is the leading cause of preventable diseases, disabilities and premature deaths, and smokers have a life expectancy 10 years lower than that of non-smokers.

During the discussion, Cllr Godwin said rising tobacco costs and changes to laws such as the indoor smoking ban had played a huge role in reducing smoking rates. He added: “When I was growing up, 80 per cent of adults smoked. Now it is less than 20 per cent, mostly due to the cost of tobacco.

“Catching that last 20 per cent of people who still smoke will be monumentally expensive. Do you think it is time to say we’ve done enough?

“Are we going to spend an inordinate amount of money chasing fewer and fewer smokers when it has been shown that legislation has been more effective. We are putting a lot of effort into achieving less and less.”

But Rose Dunlop, the council's interim director of public health, said: “Smoking is still the biggest killer in our district.

“It is the number one preventable killer. Tackling smoking is the key opportunity to tackle the health inequalities in Bradford.

“There are still 64,000 people in the district who smoke.”

Bingley Rural councillor Paul Sullivan said he would like to see a review of health initiatives locally.

He said: “There is now a diminishing return on taxpayers’ investment in campaigns which are aiming at declining numbers of smokers.

“Empirical evidence shows that the most deprived residents are more likely to smoke and least likely to quit smoking. In Bradford district 55,000 children are living in low-income households. My colleagues and I urge a review of local health initiatives.”