Smoking puts nearly half a million children into poverty in the UK

The research, published online by BMC Public Health Journal, which claims to be the first study of its kind in the UK, highlights the financial burden put on low-income families by smoking, which reduces the income available for basic household and food expenses.

Dr Tessa Langley, lead researcher from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham, said, ‘Smoking reduces the income available for families to feed, clothe and otherwise care for their children living in low-income households.’

Researchers are calling for the Government to introduce tobacco control interventions to encourage low-income smokers to quit.

The study estimates that 1.1m children in the UK, almost half of all children in poverty, are living with at least one parent who smokes. A further 400,000 would be classed as being in poverty if parental tobacco expenditure was subtracted from the household’s income, it says.

Smoking is estimated to cost £25 a week for one parent smoking, at an average cost of £7 for a packet of £20 cigarettes.

In 1999, the UK government announced a target to abolish child poverty by 2020, although the target is unlikely to bet met.

In 2011/12, 17 per cent of children in the UK, were estimated to be in relative poverty, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

‘This study demonstrates that if our government, and our health services, prioritised treating smoking dependence, it could have a major effect on child poverty as well as health,’ Ms Langley added.

Evidence gathered by the research team from existing studies shows that the issue is worldwide, with American smokers spending less on housing than their non-smoking counterparts.

In India, tobacco consumption is impoverishing nearly 15m people, who tend to cut spending on essentials such as food, education and entertainment.

• Read the study Parental smoking and child poverty in the UK: An analysis of national survey data here