92% of smokers in Greater Manchester underestimate how deadly smoking is

New figures out today show hundreds of thousands of smokers in Greater Manchester are massively under-estimating the risks of their addiction.

A survey has found 92% of smokers are unaware tobacco accounts for 1 in 2 deaths - with some lives being claimed in their 40s.

The figures have been released at the start of a new campaign across Greater Manchester, aiming to 'Make Smoking History'.

The 'Don't be The 1' quit smoking campaign is being rolled out on TV and across social media, highlighting the effects of addiction on smokers and their families.

It also aims to reassure the region's 393,000 smokers that there are plenty of support options to help them quit.

Currently, 18% of Greater Manchester's population are smokers, and the ambition is to reduce the average smoking rate from 18% to 13% by 2021.

'Don't Be The 1' is the first campaign of its kind to run in Greater Manchester, having previously been rolled out across the North East.

The campaign is being backed by ex-smokers and their families, many of whom have lost someone close through smoking or have come dangerously close themselves to being 'the one'.

Val Fenton, from Wigan, lost her husband Keith to lung cancer in 2015.

Val said there was a huge hole in all their lives with Keith missing: “It’s like you’re trying to keep busy, to get involved. But then you realise that your partner has gone, that your soul mate isn’t there anymore.

“I was shocked that the odds were one in two, I just didn’t realise. Smoking is terrible; what it does to families; what it costs the health service. I’ve seen the effects first hand and would urge anyone who is smoking to think about quitting. There’s help there for you.”

Ex-smoker Michael Brady, 66, finally quit his long-term habit after being very close to death in hospital with COPD (breathing difficulties) and emphysema, and then being diagnosed with early stage lung-cancer