'It will take 30 years for Wakefield to quit smoking'

Marlboro manufacturer Phillip Morris - which said it is now "designing a smoke-free future" - ranked Wakefield 17th of the big local authority areas in how long it will take the population to kick the habit.

Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool will quit by 2029, 2030 and 2032 respectively, the firm said.

But Wakefield, Sunderland and Hull are looking at sometime after 2050 according to the company's estimation

Mark MacGregor, director of external affairs at Phillip Morris, said: “Over four million smokers need to be persuaded to quit altogether or switch to a less harmful alternative if the Government is to realise its smoke-free ambition.

"Critical to achieving that goal will be ensuring that smokers in Wakefield have the facts about alternatives, like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. Currently, too many smokers believe that the alternatives are as harmful as smoking or are simply unaware that they exist.”