The expensive everyday habit that's quietly killing people in their droves

It remains the biggest killer in Wales and has enormous ramifications for the NHS, crime, and even those who don't directly indulge in it, as social affairs writer Lucy John reports

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SMOKING rates have reached historic lows in the UK but in 2025 tobacco remains the "leading cause of preventable death in Wales".

Yet packets of cigarettes and vapes sit on shop counters every day, perfectly legal and easy to buy.

Behind the normality are stories of grief, addiction, and regret.

As the wife of one man diagnosed with lung cancer told us: "It was horrific, it was a nightmare, and an emotional rollercoaster."

While smoking rates continue to fall, the rise of vaping has blurred the lines between helping smokers quit and leading people to a new addiction.

The new phenomenon sees the highly addictive drug nicotine being sold under the guise of fruity flavours and colourful packaging. These vapes are increasingly the choice of children and teenagers who have never before even picked up a cigarette.

"It's worrying me to death," another woman told us. "My grandkids are 17 and 18 and they are both vaping but they never ever smoked... It's so easy for them to go into the shop and get them and there's nothing I can do about it."

While the health effects of smoking are clear, we are likely still decades away from knowing the impact of vapes on developing brains and lungs.

Both the tobacco and vape industries remain legal and profitable, albeit controversial. They raise tough questions about choice, health, inequality, and the price people pay.

Over recent months the Western Mail has spoken to smokers, doctors and trading standards about the reality of nicotine use - how it hooks people in, how vaping is changing habits, and where the law struggles to keep up.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

The highest level of smoking tobacco among men in Britain was recorded at 82% in 1948, while women who smoked peaked in the mid-1960s at 45%, according to tobacco industry surveys.