Anti-smoking advert shows cancer-causing chemicals flooding major organs within seconds of cigarette use

Public Health England carries out tests that find elevated levels of carbon monoxide and cadmium, a metal found in car batteries which damages the kidneys and bones

A new campaign launched to help smokers kick the habit has highlighted how the poisonous substances in cigarette tar flood the major organs within seconds of a cigarette being lit.

The Public Health England (PHE) campaign will run adverts to encourage the UK’s seven million smokers to quit this New Year.

It comes after The Independent revealed councils have cut millions from stop-smoking service budgets while investing millions in taxpayer funds with major tobacco companies.

As part of its latest campaign PHE gave blood tests to lifelong smokers, including former Dragon’s Den investor Hilary Devey, and showed exactly what cancer-causing chemicals were circulating in their bodies.

The tests found elevated levels of carbon monoxide and cadmium, a metal found in car batteries which damages the kidneys and bones and leads to lung cancer with long-term exposure.

The smokers’ blood samples also had elevated levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines – chemicals linked to pancreatic, mouth and lung cancers – which cause mutations in the DNA and cell death.

This campaign aims to highlight how smoking harms the body beyond the lungs and heart; for example long-term smokers are twice as likely to develop kidney cancer as non-smokers.

One person is admitted to hospital every minute due to smoking, and smoking-related diseases kill 79,000 people a year in England.

Freight entrepreneur Ms Devey, a 20-a-day smoker for more than 40 years, admitted that even serious health scares had only inspired temporary stoppages but she was now determined to quit.

“I’ve been hooked on cigarettes and ignoring the damage – even though I know the harm I’m doing, I’ve found it extremely difficult to quit for good. Even a stroke three years ago only led me to stop temporarily.

“Seeing the high levels of poisonous chemicals in my blood from these tests really hit home how dangerous continuing to smoke is – and for that reason, I’m done!”

PHE is highlighting the support available from the NHS and stop smoking services.

However, funding has been cut in half in the last five years while The Independent found investment in big tobacco, through local authority pension funds, increased from £1bn in 2012-13 to £1.3bn in 2016-17.

Professor John Newton, director of health improvement at PHE, said: “Every cigarette sends a flood of poisonous chemicals through the bloodstream in seconds.

“People know that tar damages the lungs, but it’s less well understood that the poisons also reach the other major organs in the body. We are urging every smoker to take advantage of the free Smokefree support and quit for good this New Year.”

Health minister Steve Brine added that smokers lose about ten years of life on average, saying: “Although smoking rates are at their lowest level in decades, seven million of us still haven’t kicked the habit.

“When people see the devastating impact on their health and lives, I hope they will make a change to protect themselves and their families.”

But pro-smoking campaigners said PHE was wasting public money by continuing to highlight the personal and public cost of smoking.

Simon Clark, director of smokers’ lobby group Forest, said: “It wouldn't be New Year without an anti-smoking campaign designed to scare smokers to quit.

“The new ad is a complete waste of public money. Smokers know there are serious health risks associated with smoking. They don’t need another alarmist TV ad to remind them.”