SMOKING costs Greater Manchester £450 million a year reveals a new survey.

The results reveal that the county to lose the most potential wealth to the local economy is Greater Manchester.

Everything from daily smoking breaks to excess sick pay means a drop in productivity losing the Greater Manchester economy £450 million each year.

The county to lose the next largest amount of wealth due to smoking-related issues and reduced productivity is West Midlands – the potential loss of wealth in one year equals £399.5million.

The results come from vape specialist Vapourcore.com who used data from Action on Smoking and Health.

Charles Bloom, owner of Vapourcore, said:“The risks of smoking have always been highlighted from a health point of view, but rarely from the perspective of business and opportunity.

The numbers revealed prove that smoking remains an issue.

"Instead of redistributing wealth into the local economy companies are having to spend on facilitating employees’ smoking habits.”