A pioneering stop smoking programme in west London has been nationally recognised after helping over 600 prisoners to quit successfully at HM Wormwood Scrubs.

Kick-it has been awarded the Royal Society for Public Health’s (RSPH) Health and Wellbeing award for its unique work with inmates at the prison, who until relatively recently have struggled to receive adequate stop smoking support .

With new rulings banning smoking in prisons from next year, it is believed the work by Kick-it, which offers help to people in Hammersmith and Fulham , Kensington and Chelsea , Westminster , Richmond and Kingston, the work will set an important template for future work across the UK.

The programme, which has seen over 1,400 inmates to date, started off in 2009 as a quit clinic. It allows to be Health Care Representatives, meaning they discuss benefits of quitting and also run lung age tests with fellow inmates.

Gary Monaghan, Governor of Wormwood Scrubs said: “Lots of prisoners smoke and their health is impaired as a result. Supporting and delivering the Stop Smoking Programme is a massive shot in the arm for prisoners’ improved health and wellbeing.

“At some point, all prisons will become smoke-free. Kick-It has shown the way in an inclusive and highly engaging service that is very successful in helping our prisoners quit smoking”.