Kids to pressure parents on smoking

London: Young children are to be mobilised to heap pressure on their parents to give up smoking, in a continuing drive against the habit.

As England awoke to a ban on lighting up in pubs and restaurants yesterday, plans have been drawn up for "smoking cessation support workers" to visit schools to "educate" children about the dangers of passive smoking.

The children will then be urged to return home and "stand up for their rights" by telling their mothers and fathers to stop smoking at home.

Details of the initiative, branded as "disgraceful moral blackmail" by critics, come as Caroline Flint, a health minister until last week's reshuffle, has told local authorities to adopt a softly-softly approach in the early days of the ban on smoking in public places, which came into effect at 6am yesterday morning.

Calling for breaches to be settled with a quiet word rather than a fine, she said: "We are saying, 'Don't come down like a tonne of bricks'. There may be some smoking martyrs, but only when people are flagrantly breaking the law should matters be taken further, as a last resort."

The initiative to use children to persuade their parents to stop smoking is being pioneered in London by the North Fulham New Deal for Communities (NDC) project, backed with £15,000 (Dh110,637) of government money. Other groups, including NHS primary care trusts, are expected to adopt similar measures.

A spokesman for North Fulham NDC said: "It's about getting children to fight for their rights. Workers will visit schools to educate children about the dangers of second-hand smoke, so children can then ask their parents to respect their right to grow up in a smoke-free home."