Children may only need to smoke once to increase their chances smoking long term.

According to a study by Cancer Research UK, smoking a single cigarette can increase a childs vulnerability to developing a long term smoking habit.

The research refers to this vulnerability as the ‘sleeper effect' - and concludes that young adolescents should be prevented from trying thier first cigarette. In addition they suggest that young people who have tried one cigarette in the past should be identified and targeted for preventative messaging and anti-smoking support.

They found that by the age of 11, children who had smoked just one cigarette were more far more likely to start smoking in the next few years. This was even after a three year gap.

The study, over five years, measured Nicotine intake by saliva analysis of 2,000 children aged 11 to 16 from London.

Cancer Research UK said, “We know that progression from experimenting with one cigarette to being a smoker can take several years. But for the first time we've shown that there may be a period of dormancy between trying cigarettes and becoming a regular smoker - a ‘sleeper effect' or vulnerability to nicotine addiction.

The results also indicate that prior experimentation is a strong predictor of taking up smoking later. And the finding of a ‘sleeper effect' suggests that health care providers designing targeted campaigns should focus on young teenagers who report having tried cigarettes in the past.”

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