On July 1, 2007, all public places and workplaces became smoke free, including shops, offices, factories, pubs, cafes, restaurants, membership clubs and work vehicles.

And in the 2009 national YouGov survey of 13,000 people, broken down by region, found that 80 percent of people in the north east say they support the smokefree law, with just 15 per cent opposing, while 90 per cent say the law is good for the health of workers and 82 per cent say it is good for their own health.

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, said: "This new research highlights just how popular the smokefree law is.

"The vast majority of people do not want themselves or their children to breathe in other people's smoke.

"But nationally around 300,000 children try smoking each year and we need to do more to make cigarettes less attractive.

"That is why we are urging MPs to back the current Health Bill in Parliament to put cigarettes out of sight and out of reach for youngsters."