Tobacco.org

• Smokers' kids 'are yobs' 

CHILDREN whose parents smoke are more likely to binge drink, skip school, take drugs and have sex, it was claimed today.

The conclusion was made after a study of more than 830 teenagers.

They were quizzed about their attitudes to school, HIV, drugs, and drink driving, and asked whether they had vandalised, stolen, had sex, taken drugs or binge drunk in the past week.

The study found that children of parents who smoke had far worse problem behaviour than children from non-smoking homes.

These ranged from binge drinking, drug experimentation, truancy and theft to vandalism, fighting and under-age sex.

Professor Colin Pritchard, of Bournemouth University, which carried out the study, called for warnings about the social and psychological impact of smoking to be added to health warnings on cigarette packets.

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