Roy Castle Kids Against Tobacco Smoke (KATS) Campaign

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in the UK each year. Tobacco causes around 90% of all lung cancer. It is rare nowadays for an adult to start smoking. The tobacco industry must therefore look to young people to replace the 300 smokers who die each day, in the UK, from tobacco related diseases.

Smoking is addictive and many of the children and young people who start to smoke will go on to smoke all of their lives. Half of those who do, will die, many prematurely, of tobacco related illnesses. According to the World Health Organisation, of all the children alive in the world today, 250 million will die as a result of tobacco addiction.

Despite present government initiatives, in the UK, the number of young people who smoke regularly, is rising. 13% of 8 to 18 year olds smoke regularly. A recent report from Edinburgh University shows that, in Scotland, over the last decade, the number of 15 year old girls smoking daily has doubled form 12% to 24%.

The KATS Program is part of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation's overall strategic approach - this being to reduce the incidence of lung cancer and to improve lung cancer patient care. Lung cancer prevention will be achieved by reducing the numbers of teenagers taking up this addictive habit. A report, by the Royal College of Physicians, shows that three out of four children are aware of cigarettes before they reach the age of 5. Furthermore, by age 10 years, as many as 40% of boys and 28% of girls, have had at least a few puffs of a cigarette. Thus, in order to encourage young people to accept non-smoking as the norm, anti-smoking messages must start when children are very young.