New research has highlighted the link between smoking, ill health and inequality in the North East - showing that more than four in ten households with smokers in our region live in poverty.
The figures, from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) highlight that there are 112,000 households across the wider region with at least one smoker where people are living in poverty.
Citing data that the average smoker is paying just shy of £2,000 a year for their tobacco, ASH have also highlighted that according to their research 17,177 people are "economically inactive" due to the impact of smoking on their health.
