Messages encouraging smokers to quit could be added to the inside of cigarette packs under proposals being considered by the government.

The inserts would set out the health and financial benefits of quitting and direct people to the support they may need, the Department of Health said.

Quitters can expect to see improvements to their breathing within a matter of days, a 50 per cent reduction in the risk of a heart attack within a year and save £2,000 a year on average.

A consultation launched today, which runs until October, is seeking views on the proposals and the design of the inserts.

Every year around 76,000 people in the UK die from smoking, which remains one of the leading preventable causes of illness and mortality according to the NHS.

Quitters can expect to see improvements to their breathing within a matter of days, a 50 per cent reduction in the risk of a heart attack within a year and save £2,000 a year on average

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘By taking action to reduce smoking rates… we will reduce the pressure on the NHS and help people to live healthier lives’

It is responsible for nearly 4 per cent of hospital admissions – equivalent to almost 450,000 a year – and tobacco-related harms are thought to cost taxpayers an estimated £21billion every year, including more than £2billion in costs to the NHS. Inserts are already used in other countries including Canada and Israel.

Analysis of the policy’s impact in Canada found almost one in three smokers had read the inserts at least once in a month and those who were exposed to them multiple times were significantly more likely to try to quit.

The government says that introducing pack inserts could lead to 30,000 more smokers quitting – delivering health benefits worth £1.6billion.

The consultation is part of the government’s efforts towards its pledge to get the nation smoke-free by 2030, equating to smoking rates dropping to less than 5 per cent.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘By taking action to reduce smoking rates… we will reduce the pressure on the NHS and help people to live healthier lives.’

The consultation launch comes as the government today publishes an initial report on its Major Conditions Strategy, which covers the six groups of conditions accounting for 60 per cent of all ill-health and early deaths in England.

Feline arty! Artist loves her pet cat so much she’s added it to works by Botticelli, Dali and even the Mona Lisa

By Katy Winter

Published: 13:07 EDT, 20 June 2014 | Updated: 13:07 EDT, 20 June 2014

While some of us spend more of our time online looking at cute cats than we would care to admit, few will have discovered the world of Fat Cat Art.

A bizarre but strangely wonderful concept of classic paintings and fine art work ‘improved’ by a fat ginger cat, Fat Cat Art is rapidly growing its online fan base. 

The pieces are the work of Russian artist Svetlana Petrova who features her own cat Zarathustra in every picture. 

From the Venus by Sandro Botticelli getting a feline makeover, to the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile suddenly being explained by the presence of a cat on her lap, these furry reinterpretations of some of the most well known art in history have captured the imagination of thousands.

Fat Cat Art re invents the famous Michelangelo fresco ‘The Creation of Adam’ at Sistine Chapel

The original ‘Creation of Adam’ is one of the most famous fresco’s of what is widely considered Michelangelo’s greatest work

In adding a cat to Venus of Urbino by Tiziano, Svetlana says ‘It is evidently that this beautiful lady is dreaming of a handsome, warm and soft cat!’

Mona Lisa’s smile in the famous painting by Leoardo da Vinci, is a mystery no more

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli takes on a decidedly comic look when the classic voluptuous beauty is replaced by Zarathustra

Adopting a ‘nymph of the wood’ pose Zarathustra looks at home among the dancing beauties in Botticelli’s Spring March… almost