LIVERPOOL’S smokers cost the NHS more than their counterparts in any other area.

According to new data from the Association of Public Health Observatories, Liverpool topped the charts of the cost of smoking to the NHS at £56 per adult between 2006-8.

And, in Knowsley, more people than anywhere else die from the smoking-related illness Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

The Royal Castle Lung Cancer Foundation last night called for urgent action to tackle the North-South divide of smoking death rates.

The foundation’s chief executive, Dr Rosemary Gillespie, said: “The news of a North-South divide when it comes to smoking-related deaths sadly comes as no surprise.

“Some of the poorest communities in the UK are in the North, and it is our experience that public health problems, such as smoking and poor diet, are much more prevalent in these areas.

“Smoking is recognised as the UK's leading cause of early death, with more than 100,000 people dying every year from smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer.

“Although we are all now well aware of the spending cuts which are being made across government, it is vital that investment in public health measures, which support people to stop smoking, remain a matter of priority in order to help tackle this postcode lottery of health and reduce the inequalities between the North and South.”