Campaigners say awareness of PAD, which can lead to gangrene and limbs being amputated, is low.

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) has published a report highlighting the consequences of the disease.

Smoking narrows the arteries, making it more difficult for blood to reach some parts of the body.

While this can sometimes lead to amputations, the greatest risk for people with PAD is a heart attack or stroke.

Ash says around 2.7 million people in the UK over the age of 55 have some degree of PAD.

One third of sufferers die within five years, and half die within 10 years of diagnosis.

In about half of patients with PAD there are no obvious symptoms and the first sign may be a heart attack or stroke.

Deborah Arnott, director of Ash, said: "Quite literally, smoking can cost an arm and a leg if people with arterial disease don't stop smoking.

"Doctors and health professionals should warn patients who smoke of the risk of arterial disease and offer them advice on ways to quit.

My uncle would have lost his leg if he hadnt died from a massive heart attack