Stuff.nz    06 December 2004

By KAMALA HAYMAN

Desperate smokers are bombarding a national helpline in a bid to quit ahead of Friday's start to the ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces.

The Smokefree Environments Amendment Act, which comes into force on December 10, requires all pubs, bars and clubs to be smokefree.

Quitline manager Jane Mills said the service was handling 700 new callers a week at the moment, twice the usual number for the time of year.

"Historically, November and December are very quiet times for us."

Demand had been unusually high for the last six months, said Mills, not only from individual smokers but from workplaces.

"There has been a lot of interest from employers wanting to help staff quit."

Mills said the service had predicted a rise in demand ahead of the new law and taken on extra staff to cope.