YOUNG teenagers rate slimline cigarettes as stylish, feminine and possibly safer than regular brands, researchers have found.

Thinner cigarettes were generally seen as weaker, more palatable, and less harmful by a focus group of 15-year-olds from Glasgow, despite some super-slim brands containing more dangerous chemicals than their bulkier counterparts.

Teenagers were most attracted to slim and super-slim cigarettes with white filters and decorative features, describing them as "classy" and "nicer", said Cancer Research UK.

In contrast, one long brown cigarette was viewed as particularly harmful and labelled "disgusting", "really, really strong", and "old-fashioned".

The researchers asked 48 teenage boys and girls about eight cigarette brands that differed in length, diameter, colour, and design.

Professor Gerard Hastings, Cancer Research UK's social marketing expert at the University of Stirling and one of the study authors, said: "Both the pack and the product are powerful marketing tools in the hands of the tobacco industry which [are being used] to recruit a new generation of smokers. It's time policy-makers moved to standardise both."

Chief executive and co-founder of parent website Mumsnet, Justine Roberts, said: "Standardised packs may not be a silver bullet, but Mumsnet users are clear that they'd be very happy to see them as part of a range of measures to discourage children."

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "This research once again highlights how the tobacco industry exploits any opportunity to lure young smokers.

"The evidence shows children are attracted to glitzy, slickly designed cigarettes and packs and every year more than 207,000 UK children aged between 11 and 15 start smoking.

"We are urging the Government to introduce standardised packaging to discourage these children from starting this life-threatening habit."

The House of Lords will debate standardising cigarette packaging over the next few weeks.