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Smoking puts enormous pressure on the NHS. It kills about 80,000 people a year, external<\/span><\/a>, and is responsible for one in four of all deaths from cancer. <\/p>\n It is also linked to other serious conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, asthma and dementia. It can affect fertility and pregnancy.<\/p>\n Figures from NHS England show there were an estimated 408,000 hospital admissions due to smoking in 2022-2023, external<\/span><\/a>, up from 389,000 in 2021-2022.<\/p>\n Cigarettes release thousands of different chemicals when they burn, including carbon monoxide, lead and ammonia.<\/p>\n Many components of tobacco are poisonous, and up to 70 cause cancer. <\/p>\n Vaping is not as harmful as smoking cigarettes, and the NHS says it has helped thousands of people to quit, external<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n However, health experts warn that anyone who does not currently smoke should not start vaping, because it can cause long-term damage to young people’s lungs, hearts and brains.<\/p>\n In December 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that “alarming evidence” about the dangers of vaping was growing, external<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n