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• Smoking disease costs NHS £5bn 

Smoking costs the NHS five times as much as previously thought, researchers have calculated.

Treating disease directly caused by smoking produces medical bills of more than £5bn a year in the UK.

In 2005, smoking accounted for almost one in five of all deaths and a significant amount of disability, the Oxford University team said.

The British Heart Foundation who funded the research said tighter regulations were needed on the sale of tobacco.

The figure of £5bn in 2005-06 equates to 5.5% of the entire NHS budget.

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