New campaign launched to raise awareness of health impact of smoking

The government has launched a new public awareness campaign to highlight the severe damage that smoking can do to the body's main systems.

Spearheaded by Public Health England, the initiative will encompass digital and print billboards, as well as online viral activity, centred around the concept that smoking can cause the body to degenerate in a similar manner to rotting.

In addition to the well-publicised heart and lung problems associated with smoking, the habit can also harm the bones and muscles – leading to an increased risk of fracture and chronic pain – as well as damage the brain and increase the likelihood of cognitive degeneration.

Smoking can also be harmful to the eyes and teeth, which is why the government is keen to encourage smokers to make quitting one of their new year's resolutions.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer at Public Health England, said: "Whilst many smokers know the damage cigarettes do to their hearts and lungs, they are much less likely to be aware of how harmful smoking is to the body."

Recent official data has indicated that the number of smokers in Britain has more than halved in the past four decades, a trend that the government wishes to maintain.