Over 150,000 Children 'Start Smoking each Year'

Some 157,000 children aged 11 to 15 start smoking every year in England, the charity Cancer Research UK said Wednesday, while almost one million -- or 27 percent of the total -- have tried smoking at least once.

The child smokers who acquire the habit each year would fill 5,200 classrooms, the charity said as it campaigns for branding-free packaging on tobacco products.

"Preventing young people from being tempted to try smoking is vital, as eight out of ten adult smokers start before they turn 19," it said in a statement.

"Cancer Research UK is petitioning the government to bring in plain packaging of tobacco so children are less likely to be seduced by the sophisticated marketing techniques designed to make smoking attractive to youngsters."

The figures are derived from its reports on young people's smoking habits in 2009 and 2010.

In 2010, the charity's data indicated that among 13-year-olds alone, 3 per cent smoked regularly, 2 per cent smoked occasionally and 4 per cent said they used to smoke.

Half of all long-term smokers will die from tobacco-related illness, Cancer Research said, while about 100,000 people are killed by smoking in the UK each year.

The government has said it will carry out a consultation on the possibility of making plain packaging a legal requirement on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Australia has passed a law requiring plain packaging from December 2012 but it faces legal challenges from major tobacco companies.