The image of fat being squeezed from a tube to resemble clogged arteries is the latest attempt to shock Britons into stubbing out cigarettes for good.

But, despite these hard-hitting advertising campaigns, new statistics show a quarter of people in the South West continue to smoke.

Lung cancer is the disease commonly associated with smoking, but heart and circulatory disease is actually a bigger cause of death from smoking.

The new anti-smoking campaign launched by the British Heart Foundation follows the charity's first UK comprehensive round up of smoking statistics.

Reformed smoker David Case, of Wentworth Park, Freshbrook, thinks it is vital to drum home the message that smoking kills.

Mr Case, 56, started smoking at 14 but gave up after undergoing a heart bypass operation in 2002.

He said: "When I was a kid it was considered abnormal if you didn't smoke. We didn't know the risks then.

"I used to smoke about 30 a day, but when the doctor said I'd be dead if I carried on smoking, I had no choice but to stop.

"When I was waiting for the operation I just sat watching television. All I could think about was that I was close to dying.

"I was in intensive care for three days after my operation and very nearly didn't make it, so I know life is too precious to throw it away by smoking.

"It's certainly not easy quitting. I still crave a cigarette every now and then, but it gets easier with time."

Mr Case, who works in the warehouse at Asda, West Swindon, said when he feels like having a cigarette he nips into the smoking room at work.

"As soon as I go in that room I don't want a cigarette anymore," he said. "You don't realise when you're a smoker how much it smells.

"My wife Denise, who is 50, has been an inspiration. She has never smoked and has kept me strong and looked after me. "

Philip Besley, the regional director for the BHF in the South West, said: "No matter how long you've been smoking and how heavily, it's always beneficial to stop.

"It's the single most important thing a smoker can do to live longer and in better health."

For more information visit www.bhf.org.uk or call 0800 169 1900.

Alex Emery