A researcher on smoking has found that the cost to the NHS has been calculated five times as much as previously thought.

Treating disease directly caused by smoking produces medical bills of more than £5billion a year in the UK – 5.5 per cent of the entire NHS budget.

In 2005, smoking accounted for almost one in five of all deaths and a significant amount of disability. This is according to a team from Oxford University.

The British Heart Foundation who funded the research said tighter regulations were needed on the sale of tobacco.

I personally think smoking is completely foolish.

Not only is it affecting the smokers’ health, it is also affecting other people by passive smoking.

It is completely inconsiderate and it should be taxed more and more or just be banned completely rather than just in public places.

I also think the government has taken the right step to ban advertising, issue warnings on packets and ban smoking in public places, but don’t seem to be able to go the whole distance and ban smoking altogether.

In the end, it does not matter what we debate – write about, it will never stop people smoking. It does not matter how much cigarettes go up in price or what the anti-smoking people say, people will still smoke.

I hope some people do stop smoking for the sake of their own health. Councillor Salim Mulla, Blackburn.