Smoking is strongly patterned by socio-economic status in the UK; in the 2011 Government Health Survey, prevalence of smoking was 31% amongst individuals in routine occupations compared to 10% amongst individuals in higher managerial and professional occupations (ASH). A recent systematic review reported that the NHS stop-smoking services may be helping to reduce inequalities in smoking prevalence by preferentially targeting smokers of lower socio-economic status (SES). These findings are supported by data from primary care records (The Health Improvement Network), which show that between 2008 and 2010, smokers in more deprived groups were more likely to receive smoking cessation interventions. A recent telephone survey in England found no evidence for differences in rates of self-reported smoking cessation medication use or type of medication used by category of SES. However, this survey demonstrated that there were clear differences in success of quit attempts by SES, with rates being lowest in the lowest SES group. More research is urgently required in this area using large clinical databases to further understand the differences in smoking cessation medication effectiveness by SES.