HUNDREDS of thousands of smokers in Bury and Greater Manchester are massively underestimating the addiction's risk of ending their lives, according to a new survey.

More than 90 per cent of the region's 393,000 smokers underestimated the one in two risk of dying they face if they continue to smoke long-term, a pre-campaign survey has found ahead of the launch of Don't Be The 1, encouraging smokers in Greater Manchester to quit.

The campaign has been created by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, to highlight the devastating effects of the addiction on Bury smokers and their families.

Earlier this year it was revealed that smoking kills around 500 people a year in Bury, with 990 deaths attributed to the habit from 2014 to 2016.

The were also 1,792 hospital admissions in Bury due to smoking in the year 2015 to 2016.

Sarah Price, Director of Population Health for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: "Smoking is highly addictive and much more harmful than most people think.

"These odds show just how important it is that people who smoke consider what they are risking.

“It might be tempting to think ‘this won’t happen to me’ but we are urging people to think about the impact their smoking could have on the people who love them."

The campaign will be featured across TV and social media, and also offers vital advice on support on how to quit, which slashes health risks immediately.

According to the survey 82 per cent of smokers said they wished they had never started, while only one in 10 said that they did not want to quit.

Ms price said: "Quitting might not always be easy and there are more ways to quit than ever before.

"Quitting lowers your risk of dying early at any age, but the sooner you quit smoking completely the better."

Don't Be The 1 is one of several schemes aiming to cut the smokers in the region by a third, from its current 18 per cent level to around 13 per cent, by 2021.

For more information o or advice on quitting visit http://dontbethe1.tv/ or https://www.theburydirectory.co.uk/kb5/bury/directory/service.page?id=zvg3OWX6bvM