Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has backed the government’s call for selling cigarettes in plain packaging, saying that he is ‘open’ to the proposal of de-branding cigarettes with hopes that it might push quit smoking rates higher than now.

An audit by Smokefree Plymouth showed the smoking ban at Derriford Hospital has helped cut smoking rates considerably, with 94% people giving up cigarettes within 30 days.

The successful smoking cessation aid, Chantix, known in the UK as Champix, can also help fight alcohol addiction, claim the researchers at the University of Chicago.

Christopher Hunt, a 29-year-old guy from Hartlepool, Durham, speaks for the first time today after a close shave with death last Christmas when he suffered a stroke and had to undergo emergency surgery.

To encourage smoking cessation, a ban on tobacco promotion has come into force in England, under which all large shops and supermarkets in the country must cover up cigarettes and hide tobacco products from public view.