'I started this habit when I was 15 - I've lost so many people because of it since'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Debbie Lindsay was just 15-years-old when she started a fateful habit that would see her robbed of numerous loved ones over the years.

Now, she is leading a campaign to make sure other people don't make the same mistake - which is the single biggest cause of preventable deaths in Greater Manchester.

The mum-of-five, from Chadderton, started smoking when she was a teenager and it became a constant habit. Her whole family smoke, but soon the toll became clear - suffering with severe chest infections that would 'take weeks to get over'.

Debbie then started losing friends and family to smoking-related diseases, which convinced her to quit. But, after seven years being smoke-free, the strain of nursing her father who died from cancer had an impact, and Debbie relapsed - years later, she too found herself seriously ill in hospital with COPD. READ MORE: Gang thought they were about to make millions - but police were watching their every move READ MORE: The Detectives: Family's heart-breaking tribute to Cameron Brooksbank after his story appears in BBC documentary In Greater Manchester, it's estimated that around 5,700 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses, with 150,000 smokers living in ill-health and almost 15,000 out of work due to smoking-related illness.