A manufacturer of a breath monitor has had its products snapped up by the Indonesian Department of Health in a deal worth just over £30,000.

Bedfont Scientific has sold 100 Micro+ Smokerlyzer devices to the Asian state, which it hopes will help reduce the number of men who smoke in the country.

The handheld device measures the amount of carbon monoxide in exhaled breath.

The product is considered an important device used in support to help people stop smoking, along with clinical trials and research into the issue.

Figures released by The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease indicate that in Indonesia a staggering 67% of adult males and 41% of male youths smoke - in comparison to just 2.7% of women, and 6.2% of female youths.

Smoking is a national problem, with the union estimating that healthcare costs to tobacco-related issues amount to $1.2 billion every year.

The company, founded in 1976, employs 45 people at their headquarters in Harrietsham, located just outside of Maidstone.

Jason Smith, general manager at Bedfont, said: “We are delighted to have the Indonesian Department of Health purchase our products and use them in this important work.

"The 100 Micro+ Smokerlyzer units will be used by smoking cessation advisors to demonstrate the levels of CO in the blood of those who smoke, providing a motivational visual aid that can help them to give up smoking.”