Controversial: Josie Cunningham has admitted to smoking 20 cigarettes a day after discovering she was having a son and not a daughter

A pregnant would-be glamour model who had a breast enlargement on the NHS has admitted she is drinking and smoking because she is expecting a baby boy, not a girl.

Josie Cunningham, 23, said if she knew she was having a son earlier, she would have gone through with the abortion she considered after being asked to appear on Big Brother.

As a result, the mother-of-two has turned to alcohol and cigarettes to get over her disappointment.

The former escort is now smoking 20 a day, even though she knows it will harm the baby.

She has vowed to quit, but has said she needs her GP as well as NHS-funded nicotine patches and counselling to help her kick the habit.

Her comments come days after she was pictured smoking before getting into a taxpayer-funded taxi, a service she uses every day because she developed 'anxiety' issues after angry people confronted her on the bus.

She told the Sunday Mirror: ' The evening I found out the sex of the baby was when I lit up my first cigarette. I’m not proud of it – but I couldn’t stop myself. It changed everything.

'Once I’d finished the cigarette I found it difficult to focus on anything positive, so I had a small glass of wine.

'My intention was to have one, but before I knew it I was on my second and I’d smoked a whole packet of fags.'

Today, Miss Cunningham revealed on Twitter that she will be releasing an autobiography at the end of the year.

Her agent Rob Cooper told Mail Online that the book will be 'Josie's exact words, completely unedited', meaning spelling and grammar mistakes will be included.

Last week it was revealed that Miss Cunningham, and her two children aged six and three, are driven two-and-a-half miles to and from the local school every day in a journey which costs Leeds Council £30 a day.

Miss Cunningham also clashed with Loose Women co-host Myleene Klass during an appearance last Wednesday, suggesting it was wrong that NHS money was used to fund her £4,800 cosmetic surgery.

Before her appearance - which caused a stir on Facebook and Twitter - she tweeted a photo of herself in the changing rooms with the message: 'Not long till I'm on Loose Women... Haters are going to hate regardless.'

The talk show’s presenters began the interview by saying that it was an opportunity to 'explain her side' after continuous negative publicity.

Criticism: She was blasted by Mylene Klass during an appearance on Loose Women last week, suggesting the use of taxpayers' money to fund her breast enlargement was wrong

Miss Cunningham said: 'You expect a bias opinion when you put yourself out there in the media. I won't say I disagree with everything they say. I did the first story so I can be an inspiration for young women or women of any age that are suffering from 0 per cent breast tissue.

'I have received a lot of abuse online and have just been bullied all my life for having no boobs. I am not going to be bullied again.'

Anti-smoking advice, counselling, drugs and patches are all available on the NHS, but at a cost to the taxpayer.

News that Miss Cunningham had had a breast augmentation, funded by the same NHS Trust that refused to fund surgery that would have enabled a two-year-old girl with a form of cerebral palsy to walk provoked outrage across the country.

Disappointed: Miss Cunningham, pictured outside the ITV studios in London, said she had a bottle of wine and a packet of cigarettes the evening after she discovered her future child's gender

Miss Cunningham later claimed her breasts, which were boosted from a 32A to a 36D, were ‘so big’ she found them embarrassing, and said the NHS should pay for a reduction.

Then she tried to placate public opinion by promising to pay back the cash.

But when she became pregnant after working as a £1,000-a-night escort, she admitted she could not uphold her pledge – and now continues to soak up public funds.

She has had £1,500 of Botox treatment for excessive sweating, and two months ago, she boasted she would be having £2,500 of free dental work now she is expecting.

And earlier this year, the publicity-hungry mother threatened to have an abortion after being invited to go on Big Brother.

Yesterday Miss Cunningham told how she and her children, aged six and three, are driven two-and-a-half miles to and from the local school, twice a day.

The journey, which costs Leeds Council £30 a day, would cost around £30 a week by bus, but Miss Cunningham insisted it was worth it, and said taxpayers should be grateful it was taxis rather than more expensive private hire cars.