'One in six' European 11-year-olds have smoked

One in six European 11-year-olds have tried smoking at least once, a survey published today has found.

The  Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Studyanalysed the smoking behaviours in adolescents from 35 European countries.

It revealed a dramatic increase in the number of young people who reported having tried tobacco products between the ages of 11 and 15.

Professor Luke Clancy, chairman of Irish anti-smoking group Ash and director general of the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society, said: "Most young people begin to experiment with tobacco products in young adolescence, but what's shocking is that one in six 11 year-olds have tried at least one cigarette in their lives.

"If these children don't manage to quit, one in two will die as a result."

Among school-going children in Ireland, 19 per cent are smokers, while 41 per cent of children - 11 to 17 years-old - said they had smoked a cigarette.

At the age of 15 the lifetime prevalence has increased by more than four times to 62 per cent.

These results are particularly alarming, since early onset of smoking is one of the most important predictors for later smoking and it also correlates with heavier smoking.

Professor Clancy considers easy access to tobacco and exposure to advertising as major factors in promoting smoking among young people.

"Since price is the single most important factor in preventing children from starting smoking, we missed a great opportunity to increase the price of cigarettes in the last budget," he said.

He also believes that advertising bans covering all types of tobacco promotion, from branded ashtrays to billboards, are a particularly effective way of cutting smoking in younger people.