SMOKING-related sick days caused 503,838 work days to be lost in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset in a year.

The figures were produced by antismoking campaign group ASH which calculates that smoking currently costs the economy in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset £199million a year in lost days.

Leading employers are supporting this month’s Stoptober quit smoking campaign the 28-day stop smoking challenge from Public Health England.

Fiona Andrews, director of Smokefree South West, said: “There are so many reasons to quit, and clearly it’s not just the health benefits and the money that you save to think about.

“There are so many ways to quit too, and so much support out there.

“There are more ex-smokers now than smokers, so search 'Stoptober' online today and get help to quit for good.”