New research has found that nearly all children who have a parent who smokes wish they would quit. Results of a poll carried out by the Department of Health revealed that almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of children would rather their parents quit smoking than give them more pocket money.
Martin Dockrell, director of research and policy at Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said: "Smokers don't just harm themselves but they harm the people around them…The only way that we can effectively protect kids from second hand smoke is by convincing their parents to quit."
The good news, added Dockrell, is that since the ban on tobacco advertising in 2003, children are more clued up on the dangers of smoking than ever before.
For those people still struggling to beat the addiction a hard-hitting campaign aimed at encouraging parents to stop smoking has been launched.
The advertising campaign is targeted specifically at adults and is unusual in that it features appeals by real children to their parents asking them to stop smoking. The advert launch coincides with research revealing a new "smoke-free" generation of children claim they would never try a cigarette.
The Public Health Minister Gillian Merron said, "I hope this new campaign will give mums and dads the encouragement they need to realise they can do it with help from the NHS, and support from their children.
"You are four times more likely to quit if you use the free NHS stop smoking service. The facts are clear - every week 2,000 people die from smoking-related diseases and this has a devastating effect on children's lives."
The research conducted on behalf of NHS Stop Smoking Services, polled 1,000 children in England aged 8-13.
The outlook for the future is looking positive despite the prevalence of tobacco addiction. Figures show that the number of people who successfully quit smoking through NHS Stop Smoking Services in the past year reached over 337,000.