Unhealthy lifestyles put 1m people in England at risk of an early death

One in 50 over-15s in England are at risk of early death because they smoke, drink too much and are overweight, research shows.

- Denis Campbell

This "triple threat" raises the chance of diseases such as cancer and diabetes - in some cases costing 20 years of life, a senior doctor said.

About a million people in England are living with that threat, according to an analysis of NHS data by the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).

Those at risk are in the 2.2% of the population who use tobacco, drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week and are overweight or obese, as judged by having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more.

However, 10 million people - 22% of the population of England - exhibit two of the three risky behaviours, Ash found. A total of 33.9 million (74%) have at least one risk factor.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, the chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "It is staggering that as many as one in 50 adults in England are at a much higher risk of dying because of the combination of tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food. Smoking, alcohol and excess weight each significantly increase the risk of serious health problems like cancer, heart disease and liver disease.