A poster of "Quit Smoking on Phone" in Nanjing. [Photo: thepaper.cn]

Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, has launched a "quit-smoking on phone" service and is claiming success of the trial operation.

According to thepaper.cn, smokers who accept the service are provided with personalized advice by professionals on the phone throughout the quit-smoking process.

Zhao Shicheng, Head of the program says of the 188 smokers participated, over 40 have successfully quit smoking in the first month via the program.

Staff from the Nanjing Health Information Center said the service was originally introduced from the United States, but they made adjustment to the treatment process based on local customs and practices.

They've also incorporated text-messaging into the service which they believe have increased the chances of success by over 10%.

Officials have pledged further improvement before they put the service into official operation.