SMOKING should be banned in the home, cancer scientists have urged, after a study suggested that smokers’ children were a third more likely to die from lung disease when they grow up.

Researchers in America tracked 100,000 women aged 50 to 74 for 22 years and asked them about their exposure to second-hand smoke during childhood and as adults.

2 A study suggested that smokers’ children were a third more likely to die from lung disease when they grow up Credit: Alamy

Adults exposed to passive smoking in childhood were far more prone to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema and hampers breathing, the study revealed.

Mortality rates for COPD were 31 per cent higher among those whose parents smoked during their childhood.

Ryan Diver, from the American Cancer Society, said: “This is the first study to identify an association between childhood exposure to second-hand smoke and death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in middle age and beyond.

“This research provides further support for smoke-free air laws, smoke-free home policies and clinical interventions to reduce second-hand smoke exposure.”

2 Adults exposed to passive smoking in childhood were far more prone to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the study found Credit: Alamy

The study also showed that passive smoking as an adult increased the danger even more. Those exposed to ten or more hours a week of secondhand smoke were 42 per cent more likely to be killed by the condition.

COPD has been diagnosed in an estimated 1.2 million Britons, or 2 per cent of the population, making it the secondmost common lung disease after asthma.

America banned smoking in social housing last month and the same rule is being considered in Scotland.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that it had no plans to introduce a ban on smoking in the home.

An official said: “Thanks to our tough action smoking rates are at a record low, but smoking still kills around 78,000 people in England every year, so the battle is by no means won.”

Meanwhile, an Irish anti-tobacco group has urged smokers hoping to quit not to use e-cigarettes.

A study revealed vaping boosts the production of inflammatory chemicals in the body.

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And the vapour kills protective cells in the lung that keep the air spaces clear of harmful bugs.

Chairman of Ash Ireland Dr Patrick Doorley advises those hoping to quit cigs should opt for safer ways in doing so.

He said: “There are options that are safer and have a good long-term track record, like the drug varenicline, along with nicotine replacement therapy.”