Friends and family increase the risk of children becoming smokers in the UK

Teenagers whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, or whose parents or friends smoke, are more likely to smoke themselves. The findings come from a new study carried out at Imperial College London and published today in the journal Thorax , which highlights caregivers and friends as key drivers of children trying and taking up cigarette smoking. The study, which looked at data on more than 11,500 children across the UK, shows that despite declining smoking rates in the UK since the 1970s, large numbers of early teens (aged approximately 14 years old) are still trying, or continuing, to smoke. The link between children's smoking behaviour and that of their friends highlights how comprehensive interventions such as school-led strategies are needed Dr Anthony Laverty According to the researchers, the findings highlight the 'transmissible' nature of tobacco smoking - with teens far more likely to pick up the habit after exposure from friends and family - and support the need for measures to cut smoking rates among pregnant women as well as protecting children from smoking in the home. Dr Anthony Laverty , from Imperial's School of Public Health and lead author of the research said: "Most smokers start in childhood and although smoking rates are coming down in both adults and children, large numbers of children in the UK still smoke. This represents a serious risk to their health throughout their lives as smoking kills one in every two smokers." In the study, the team used data from the Millennium Cohort Study , which looks at children across the UK at regular intervals as they age.