SMOKING accounts for a fifth of all deaths in Barnsley and costs the council £3.5m a year, according to the latest data presented to a council meeting.
Alarming figures showing almost a quarter of adults in Barnsley are still lighting up were revealed at a meeting of a council watchdog.
Nationally about 18 per cent of adults smoke but a report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee stated that 24.4 per cent of adults in Barnsley are smokers, based on data collected from people registered with a GP, up to September last year.
** The full story is in the Barnsley Chronicle, dated March 13. **
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