SMOKERS will be given a helping hand to quit their habit before Christmas when they visit Bishop Auckland Hospital today.

Trained smoking cessation workers from Durham Dales Primary Care Trust will be on hand in Chimneys' Restaurant, on the ground floor at the hospital, from noon until 1pm, to offer advice on how to give up smoking.

Trust staff will also be offering tests which will reveal the impact of smoking on the lungs and free gift-wrapped nicotine replacement therapy to those prepared to try to stop smoking before Christmas.