New research lifts lid on anti smoking attitudes

Smoking

Children are so concerned about the impact of smoking on their parent’s health that they’d go to considerable lengths to get them to give up, including: going without Christmas presents; giving up their pocket money; and even committing to complete their homework every night according to new research.

The research, which was conducted on behalf of Department of Health, reveals the anti smoking stance of a new smoke free generation of young people who are so opposed to cigarettes they’ve labelled smoking stupid, say they will never try a cigarette and that they wish that nobody in the world smoked.

Key findings in the North West include: 

• Over half (53%) of children with a parent who smokes say that their one wish for Christmas is that their Mum or Dad give up smoking.
• Almost all (99%) children with a smoking parent wish that they would quit
• Almost three quarters (73%) of children with a smoking parent worry about the risk of their parent dying. A further 58% worry about the risk of heart disease.
• 95% of children surveyed thought smoking was either stupid (49%) or dangerous (46%).
• Almost a third of children surveyed (29%) admitted to hiding their parents’ cigarettes in a desperate attempt to help them quit. 

This research follows figures published earlier this year showing that 378 people in the Rochdale borough die each year because of smoking related diseases.

The research, which polled 1,000 children in England aged 7-13 , coincides with the launch of a second wave of a Department of Health advertising campaign aimed at getting loved ones to quit smoking. It features real children, not actors, talking about how worried they are about their parents’ smoking.

Anne Milton, Public Health Minister said: “What’s clear from the research is that children really want their parents to give up smoking. It’s not easy to give up, but we hope the campaign will give people that extra bit of encouragement they need to quit.”

To order a Quit Kit visit nhs.uk/smokefree or text KIT to 63818, for help and advice about quitting call the NHS helpline on 0800 085 5052.

Alternatively for free NHS support for people who live in the Rochdale borough please contact your local stop smoking service, which is part of Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, on 0161 655 1581 or visit www.hmr.nhs.uk/stopsmoking.