Children at risk from smoking

Monday, 23 May 2005 12:00 AM

Despite frequent public health warnings parents are still smoking near their children, according to new NHS research.

Analysis of several surveys revealed that 49 per cent of teenagers said that relatives smoked near them when they were younger, with 45 per cent wishing this were not the case.

In a survey of adult smokers, 45 per cent said that they smoked with children in the car despite 60 per cent saying they disapproved of lighting up near children.

Public Health Minister Caroline Flint claimed that awareness of the problem is crucial.

"It is important that we increase the public's awareness of the real health risks to children from second-hand smoke - not merely the discomfort caused by being in a smoky atmosphere," she said.

Jean King, a spokesperson for Cancer Research UK, was less diplomatic, saying: "It is shocking that so many parents smoke near their children when the dangers are so well known."

Donna Covey, chief executive of the charity Asthma UK, gave her advice succinctly: "The best thing a smoking parent can do for their child is to quit."

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