Adele was terrified smoking would kill her

Adele quit smoking because she was terrified of developing lung cancer.

Editors at the Daily Mirror newspaper report the singing superstar was smoking up to 25 cigarettes a day before she kicked the habit.

Adele had to cancel shows in 2011 when she lost her voice, and she underwent throat surgery soon after. Doctors warned her career would be over if she did not stop smoking, as the habit was scarring her vocal cords, and she was scared of developing serious health problems.

"If I'd carried on smoking I'd probably have died from a smoking-related illness and I think that's really bad," she says. "If I was dying from lung cancer I would have potentially given it to myself and that wouldn't be something I'd be proud of."

The Hello singer, who is mother to a son named Angelo, recently revealed that after the surgery, pregnancy also changed her voice.

"I can sing a lot higher than I used to, and I can sing a lot lower," she said. "But also in pregnancy my voice got a lot lower, which is why (song) Skyfall is so low, I couldn't get up that high.

"But after grueling studio sessions and wear and tear, it's going back, but in a good way I think."