'Save your money and your life' by quitting smoking

By quitting smoking, people may be able to save thousands of pounds, it has been claimed.

The average British smoker spends around £2,000 per year in funding their smoking habit, which accounts for an estimated £121,000 in a lifetime, according to the Co-operative Bank.

With No Smoking Day approaching this week, smokers are being encouraged to drop the habit, which will save them money and have large health benefits, the bank emphasised.

Fiona Jackson, head of protection at the bank's insurance department, commented on the large financial impact that giving up smoking can have on people's lives: "Giving up smoking can save people a significant amount of money as well as hopefully bringing a longer and better quality of life.

"Someone who is able to give up an addictive habit like smoking can certainly take charge of their own financial destiny and make adequate financial provisions for their future."

As much as 30 per cent of cancer deaths are caused by smoking, according to government statistics, as well as 17 per cent of heart disease deaths and 80 per cent of bronchitis and emphysema fatalities.

According to the No Smoking Day website, quitting smoking can reduce stress, whiten teeth and improve people's sense of smell and taste.