A smoking cessation clinic based at a County Antrim dental practice is helping patients quit smoking with some spectacular results.

The overall quit rate among clients to the clinic at Dunmurry Dental Practice currently stands at 72 per cent since it started in January 2014. This is compared to the quality standard quit rate of 45-50 per cent.

The clinic, which is run by Cancer Focus NI, runs on Tuesday evenings at the practice and has had 46 clients attend in the last three years. Of those, 33 have quit at four weeks. Suzy O’Kane, cancer prevention officer at Cancer Focus NI, said: “At Dunmurry Dental, we are very lucky that all staff are extremely supportive of the clinic, from the dentists to receptionists. This additional support, I think, is what really makes a big difference.”

And Suzanne Patterson, a patient at the practice who had been a smoker for 32 years, managed to give up for good thanks to sessions at the clinic. She said: “Just being able to breathe properly is wonderful – before I’d get breathless and cough going up and down stairs or if I was out walking anywhere, especially on a windy day. I feel fresher and cleaner too.”