The number of smokers who called Tabacstop's toll-free number during office hours in 2022 was more than 8% lower than the previous year, according to figures from the Belgian helpline’s annual report which was released last week.
According to the report, the decreasing numbers are in line with a declining trend which has been noted for several years. Tabacstop recorded 19,008 telephone or email contacts in 2022, mainly from people who intended to quit smoking, RTBF reports.
On the French-speaking side, 13% fewer people called during office hours. The drop is only 4% for Flanders. Smokers in the process of quitting also regularly use the free line made available by the Foundation against Cancer via other channels. Last year, 15,248 contacts were recorded via Facebook and the website was visited by 248,956 unique visitors.
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Since June 2022, Tabacstop also offers help via a chatbot on its website. Called 'Helpy' the chatbot has already had 1558 conversations during its short existence.
Anyone who contacts Tabacstop will be put in contact with a team of psychologists and tobacco specialists who offer personal coaching. At the end of the process, half of the smokers who made contact managed to quit, with the majority doing so without the aid of drug treatment.
At the end of 2022, the federal government launched its new anti-smoking strategy, which will run until 2028 and aims to achieve "a tobacco-free generation", a goal shared by Tabacstop and the Foundation against Cancer.
