£2m spent helping smokers kick habit in less than a year.

More than 5,000 people reported they had successfully quit after turning to experts for help between April and December 2016 according latest figures.

The amount spent on help and support per smoker varied across the area, ranging from £258 in Dudley to £1,002 in Wolverhampton.

One-to-one support sessions, advice on nicotine replacement therapy such as gum and patches and a scheme for pregnant women and their families are among the stop-smoking services provided by councils.

A total of £1,963,985 was spent by councils in the region during the period with the bill including the cost of pharmacotherapies, which aim to reduce the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

The cost of stop-smoking services in Staffordshire was £550,340 and 1,442 people successfully quit as a result of the support they received. The cost per smoker was £382.

County Councillor Alan White, Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Wellbeing said: “There are a number of services to help people quit smoking, and we support people to access these services. We have invested in digital forms of advice around how to stop smoking, and we commission services that support pregnant women especially to stop smoking because of the benefits to the mother and the baby.”

In Walsall 1,210 people were able to give up and the amount spent was £499,508 at a cost of £413 per person.

While in Wolverhampton, the bill was £381,651 and 381 were successfully quit.

Director of public health Ros Jervis said: “Reducing the smoking rates in Wolverhampton – and working towards a smoke-free city – is a key priority for us.

“Tobacco use remains the single largest cause of health inequalities and premature death in Wolverhampton, and for every death caused by smoking, another 20 people suffer from smoking-related disease.

“Despite a reduction in recent years, the number of people smoking in Wolverhampton is still far too high, and remains above the national average."

In Sandwell, the amount spent on each smoker was £413. A total of £304,919 was paid out for support services during the period with 1,147people reporting that they had given up.

Jyoti Atri, director of public health, said: “Helping smokers quit is cost effective, it saves life, prevents ill health, and helps to reduce unfair differences in health. It is therefore an important part of our strategy to keep people in good health for longer.

“Sandwell Stop Smoking Service support all smokers who live, work or have their GPs in Sandwell. The service offers medications as well as behavioural support to smokers either on one-to-one or in groups clinics. It offers home visits to smokers who need help to quit but are house-bound. It also offers telephone support to those who may not be able to attend all appointment in designated stop smoking clinics.

"Nationally, outcomes of support from Stop Smoking Services are measured at 4-weeks following treatment. “But here in Sandwell, we offer longer and more robust support and measure outcomes of our interventions twelve weeks after treatment. This means that our service users are less likely to relapse."

The total spent in 2015/16 was £3,241,243, which was down from the 2014/15 figure of £4,648,082