Campaign Shows Smokers Cut Back On Food For Kids To Fund Their Habit. Children whose parents smoke may not only be suffering detriments to their health, but also emotional damage.

Research carried out by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer has shed light on startling information regarding the lengths that adults will go to in order to get their tobacco fix.

A poll released as a part of Pfizer's "Don't Go Cold Turkey" campaign asked 6,271 smokers how they paid for their nicotine habit when funds were low, the Daily Mail reported.

This countrywide initiative in England was started to encourage smokers to seek help from a healthcare professional for advice on how to quit, instead of trying to quit on their own.

A shocking 20 percent of poll respondents admitted to cutting back on Christmas and birthday gifts for their children while buying cheaper clothes and shoes for school so they could feed their addiction. Another 17 percent even admitted to cutting back on their child's essential needs, such as food and water.

More than half of the survey's participants admitted to participating in reckless and dishonest behavior as way of paying for their habit. Around 350 disgraced smokers even admitted to stealing money from their child's savings.

"Most smokers are fully aware of the financial burden that a smoking habit can have on their lives but the vast majority are not taking advantage of the free help available to them from their healthcare professional," explained Dr. Sarah Jarvis of Pfizer.

"Smoking is extremely addictive, and while 70 per cent of people who still smoke say they want to quit, the average number of times a smoker has tried to quit before succeeding is four."

Pfizer offers three simple options for finding help to quit, such as calling a QUIT Helpline like 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Smokers can also seek free and effective support through local health programs like those of the National Health Service in the UK or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S.

Finally, visiting a doctor is a smoker's best chance of shedding the destructive habit. Habitual smokers who seek help through a healthcare professional are up to four times more likely to quit compared to those who try to quit on their own.

"Your healthcare professional will welcome the opportunity to talk through your options with you. You may find it helpful to know the sort of questions they will want to discuss," said Jarvis.