A South Shields woman who has had cancer caused by smoking three times - and first picked up a cigarette when she was still in primary school - has welcomed a new report calling for the legal age to buy tobacco to be raised.
Sue Mountain, 56, smoked for much of a life, but in 2012 tests revealed she had laryngeal cancer. That's cancer on her vocal cords and is caused by smoking. A decade later, she's had the awful disease three times.
Along with public health leaders around the North East, Sue has backed recommendations from Dr Javed Khan - who released a report yesterday calling for urgent action to "make smoking obsolete". Dr Khan made 15 recommendations which include four "critical" measures for Government.
