Former England and Premier League footballer David James has admitted he smoked for 15 years as part of a new NHS drive also featuring doctors and ex-smokers.

James, who won 53 international caps in a career spanning 572 Premier League appearances, said: "I smoked for about 15 years, and at the time it was normal.

"My mum smoked, my friends smoked, it was around me. It didn't take long for me to be hooked.

"Looking back, it had a huge impact on my health and performance at the time, I wish I never started.

"My health, my children and my fans were huge motivators for me to quit - I didn't want younger people to see me smoking and think it was OK," he told the NHS Smokefree campaign.

There are 5.3 million adult smokers in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) while NHS figures suggest around 76,000 people die every year from a smoking-related illness.

Nick Hopkinson, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, said their research suggests children between the ages of 14 and 17 are three times more likely to take up smoking if people around them smoke.

Most people who smoke, he said, begin in their teens and "taking up smoking at a young age is linked to a greater risk of health problems later in life".

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England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said: "Smoking causes many serious diseases that affect people throughout their lives.

"Quitting will improve your health whatever your age and no matter how long you have smoked. It's never too late to stop."

Public health minister Andrea Leadsom said "no other consumer product kills up to two-thirds of its users".

In October, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to create a "smoke-free generation" by legislating to prevent anyone who turns 14 this year from ever buying cigarettes.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said: "Stopping smoking will not only improve their health and put money in their pocket, but also significantly increase the chances their children will grow up to be part of the smoke-free generation."