COUNTY Durham’s stop smoking service will give away free patches for the first time this No Smoking Day – March 14.

Smokefreelife County Durham will give away free nicotine replacement therapy patches in five locations across the county.

Stop smoking advisors will be available at Morrisons in Consett, Newton Aycliffe town centre, Newgate shopping centre in Bishop Auckland, St Cuthbert's Walk in Chester-le-Street and Byron Place shopping centre in Seaham between 9.30am and 4pm on March 14.

Quitters will receive one week’s worth of patches for free after filling out a short assessment with the advisor and will then be referred to their nearest clinic to receive further treatment and ongoing support.

Research shows that accessing a stop smoking service and quitting with an advisor makes you four times more likely to be successful than going it alone.

Annie Pluse, specialist stop smoking adviser, said: “This year, Smokefreelife County Durham are trying a more innovative way of engaging the public by offering free patches to help support a quit attempt."

For more information on the service visit www.smokefreelifecountydurham.co.uk