POORER parents should stub out their cigarettes to try to stem the growing number of children taking up the habit, says a Bolton MP.

Junior Health Minister Tom Sackville says parents should shoulder some of the blame for the rising tide of youngsters lighting up.

He claims children from poorer families on council estates are in extra danger of temptation from the weed because their parents are more likely to smoke.

Mr Sackville, MP for Bolton West, said: "We know the children of smokers are more likely to take up smoking and the highest incidence of smoking is amongst parents on council estates.

"The further down the socio-economic scale you go the more likely people are to smoke.

"The middle classes as a rule have given up - it is a council estate-type problem connected to poverty."

He spoke out as new figures revealed an alarming increase in regular smokers among the 11 to 15-year-old age group in England.

The survey showed the number of secondary school children smoking on a regular basis has gone up from 10pc to 12pc, even though youngsters are well aware of the dangers.

Mr Sackville rejected calls for tobacco advertising to be banned and said the way to stop children taking up the habit was through education, higher pricing and good example.

"Children in better schools who are better educated are less likely to smoke," he said. "Children on the road to delinquency are more likely to smoke.

"This issue should be addressed through schools and peer pressure. Parents should stop thinking of themselves and think of their children by setting an example."

He described critics who were against tobacco taxes because they hit the poor as "misguided", and added: "People need to be priced out of smoking".

But Bolton health chiefs say a ban on advertising is needed to to halt the frightening trend, more prevalent among girls than boys.

They say studies have shown there is no link between children smoking and social class, and point out that the study revealed that peer pressure from brothers and sisters was more influential than parents.

"This suggests the influences on children are different than those on adults," said Dr Judy Jones.

Local health chiefs say the way to stop young people smoking is to put up prices, ban advertising and clamp down on shopkeepers.

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