Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable cancer deaths in the UK. Each year it causes around 32,000 deaths from lung cancer and thousands from other cancers - it's thought to be a factor in one in four cancer deaths. In the USA, just under 500.000 peope die every year from smoking related diseases.

Just one or two cigarettes a day are more than enough to cause lung cancer

The more you smoke, the greater your risk. However, just one or two cigarettes a day are more than enough to cause lung cancer. Chronic lung disease is also common among older smokers, destroying busy and active lives.

Smoking also increases your risk of heart disease. And if you smoke and take the contraceptive pill, your risk of heart disease is 30 times that of a non-smoker.

Smoking affects your skin too. It ages more quickly in smokers, with the early appearance of wrinkles and thinning of the skin.