The Secret Diary of a Call Girl star was photographed puffing on a cigarette as she sat with her 21-month old son Winston in a pub garden in London this week (beg19Jul10).
The images, which showed the tot apparently close to a cloud of smoke, have infuriated health advocates, who are adamant that exposure to tobacco fumes puts children’s health at risk.
Amanda Sandford, of campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), tells WENN, “There is no doubt that second hand smoke harms children and it is inappropriate to be smoking while holding a child… Second hand smoke seriously damages a child’s health, raising the risk of asthma, bronchitis and chronic ear infections. The second reason is that the more a child sees adults around them, the more likely they are to try smoking themselves as they get older. Parents who quit smoking are therefore not only doing themselves a favour but their children will benefit too.”
