Huge increse in stop smoking figures since public space ban

Record numbers have given up smoking because of the ban on lighting up in pubs, clubs and restaurants.

A leaked report shows 234,060 people quit cigarettes in the months before and after the law introduced a year ago - a figure up 22 per cent on the previous year.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said: "Lives will have been saved."

The smoking ban on lighting up in pubs, clubs and restaurants is being hailed as the "single most important health measure for a generation" after record numbers gave up the habit last year.