England's smoking ban in public places prompted 800,000 smokers to try and kick the habit last year, it has been revealed.

The ban came into force on July 1st 2007 and prevented smoking in premises including offices, restaurants and bars.

Surveys conducted each month from November 2006 to January 2008 found that the ban was one of the main reasons why smokers tried to quit.

The biggest motivation for quitters however was New Year's Eve, when more than one million smokers tried to stub out for good.

In total more than 40 per cent of smokers tried to quit last year.

The surveys found that many smokers tried to quit several times, but the turn of the year seems to be the time when most quit attempts were successful.

Professor Robert West, director of tobacco studies at Cancer Research, said his findings are "very encouraging".

"It can take many attempts to stop smoking for good, but the more times you try, the more likely you are to succeed in the end," he added.

Elspeth Lee, Cancer Research UK's head of tobacco control, commented: "It's good news that the smokefree legislation, as well as protecting people from secondhand smoke, encouraged some smokers to quit.

"But with about ten million smokers in the UK – half of whom will die from a smoking related disease – we cannot be complacent. We need the government's continued commitment to reducing smoking rates and stopping future generations from starting to smoke."

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