Grocer hopes to capitalise on Sunday?s smoking ban
Asda has slashed the cost of nicotine replacement patches (NRT) to the same price as a packet of cigarettes to coincide with this Sunday's smoking ban.

Asda claims that the 66 per cent price cut will make it the cheapest place to buy NRT in the country. The patches will be priced at£5 for one week's supply after which customers will be able to buy four boxes for£20 for the five following weeks. This will allow customers to buy a week's worth of patches for the same cost as a packet of cigarettes.

Tesco has also rolled out a scheme to encourage smokers to quit. Tesco shoppers can trade Clubcard vouchers to receive four times their face value against nicotine replacement products. For every£10 of Clubcard vouchers, shoppers will receive£40 towards smoking cessation course fees.

In the UK, 26 per cent of people aged 16 years and older are smokers and 120,000 people die of smoking-related illnesses every year.

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