CIGARETTE packs will include cards encouraging smokers to quit, under new plans.
They would tell addicts they can save £2,000 a year by kicking the habit.
Cigarette packs will include cards encouraging smokers to quit, under new plansPregnant women will also be given vouchers to help them quitThe cards would highlight a 50 per cent risk of heart attacks in a year, and better breathing in days if stopping.
The inserts are used in Canada and Israel.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I know many Sun readers are smokers and that many will have tried to stop to get healthier and save some money as times are tough.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023“We’d like to use the new cards to promote positive messages to help people stop.”
Collectable cards of footballers were once used to stiffen soft cig packets — but only encouraged people to take up the habit.
Mr Barclay said the warning cards would “take that idea and turn it on its head”.
The scheme will seek views until October and is part of a campaign to have fewer than five per cent of Brits smoking by 2030.
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the UK and responsible for around 450,000 hospital admissions a year, costing the NHS £2billion every year.
Other measures aimed at driving down smoking rates include giving users free vaping kits, and vouchers to help pregnant women quit.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health said: “It takes smokers on average 30 attempts before they succeed in stopping, so encouraging them to keep on trying is vital.
“Pack inserts do this by backing up the grim messages about death and disease on the outside with best advice about how to quit inside.”
The Government is launching a health week as it publishes an initial report on its Major Conditions Strategy covering the six groups of conditions accounting for 60 per cent of all ill-health and early death.
Steve Barclay said: 'We’d like to use the new cards to promote positive messages to help people stop'