NEARLY ten per cent of 15-year-olds across the Bradford district class themselves as smokers, a new study has revealed.

According to the first What About YOUth? survey, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre today, 9.5 per cent said they were "current" smokers. The national average is 8.2 per cent.

More than 1,000 young people were questioned in the region, and 6.5 per cent of 15 year-olds described themselves as "regular"smokers, above the national rate of 5.5 per cent. Three per cent stating they smoked occasionally.

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A quarter of those questioned said they had smoked at least once, with 74.9 per cent saying they had never tried smoking of any kind.

The figures also revealed the use of E-cigarettes, with 25.6 per cent of 15-year-olds across the district saying they had tried them, compared to the national average of 18.4 per cent.

The survey, the first of its kind to be conducted, also revealed young peoples' attitudes towards smoking, with 13 per cent believing smoking was only dangerous to heavy smokers, and 2.8 per cent claiming smokers were "more fun".

Joanne Nykol, Bradford Council's Public Health Tobacco lead, said: "Reducing the uptake of smoking and the number of young people who smoke is a public health priority, and there are a range of programmes that aim to contribute to this.

"For example, partnership work with Trading Standards to protect young people from the harmful effects of smoking by enforcing under-age sales legislation and tackling the trade in illegal tobacco, as well as stopping dealers who sell to children."

She also referred to programmes in schools.

Ralph Berry, Bradford Council's portfolio holder for health and social care, said: "There are still attempts from some companies to promote smoking among susceptible groups, for example teenage girls.

"We can't be too preachy with the message, but we need to ensure youngsters are aware that the health implications from smoking can be very serious over time.

"There is an element of every generation that thinks its cool, part of some form of counter-culture.

"We need to constantly refresh and renew our approach to the health message for this particular age group, but there is lots of very good work being done in schools by public health teams."

Councillor Mike Gibbons, Conservative spokesman for health and social care, said it was "disappointing" the figures across the Bradford district were so high.

"It isn't cool, and it no longer displays adult traits to smoke," he said.

"The effects on later life are quite dreadful, and the health outcomes are even worse if people start at such a young age.

"I'd like to see young people realising the detrimental effects their actions could have."

Jeannette Sunderland, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the Council, said it was "worrying" that young people were continuing to smoke.

"We want to see a downward trend in the figures, as the long-term health impacts of smoking are beyond any doubt," she said.

"It is a massive public health issue and we all need to set an example.

"We spend huge amounts on preventable health conditions such as smoking, and the money could be better spent on research into conditions people get through no fault of their own."