Graphic anti-smoking ad launched

A series of hard-hitting government adverts featuring people smoking cigarettes with a tumour growing from the end is being launched in England.

The ads will tell smokers that just 15 cigarettes can cause a mutation that leads to cancerous tumours in what marks a return to shock campaigning.

It is eight years since government's "fatty cigarette" anti-smoking adverts appeared.

This £2.7m ad campaign will appear on TV, online and posters until February.

Smokers will also be told about NHS quit kits that are available free from pharmacies.

More than a third of smokers still believe the health risks from smoking are greatly exaggerated, recent statistics from the Department of Health showed.