Almost four in 10 Canadians want smoking banned in homes where children live, new research shows, and 57 per cent say that smoking should be banned in cars carrying children.

Half feel that parents' smoking habits should be taken into account in child-custody cases.

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A pair of studies released Tuesday suggest that Canadians are increasingly willing to curtail personal freedom in order to shield children from second-hand smoke; and it is not just non-smokers eager to pass the new laws.

One of the polls consulted roughly 14,000 Canadians, finding that 28 per cent of smokers supported greater measures to protect children in the home, a position shared by about one-third of former smokers and almost half of those who have never smoked.

In a separate survey of about 5,000 people, researchers found that about 45 per cent of smokers favoured restrictions on cigarette use in cars carrying children, compared with 57 per cent of former smokers and 62 per cent of those who have never smoked.

Both conducted by the Ontario Research Tobacco Unit (ORTU), the surveys were released at the third annual National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Ottawa.

Speaking at the conference on Tuesday, Dr. Ferrence used the research results to urge governments to consider restrictions on smoking in vehicle carrying children. She was more vague about the issue of smoking in homes, saying only that governments should place a greater emphasis on tax increases, public-smoking cessation programs and conduct greater study of public attitudes toward legal changes to tobacco law.

In her presentation, Dr. Ferrence noted that people believe smoking and second-hand smoke to be "important health problems" and that there is "considerable" support for legal remedies to second-hand smoke in the home.

Data from the ORTU indicates that children face second-hand smoke exposure in half of the Canadian homes that include both children and at least one smoker. The proportion is highest in Quebec, where more than three-quarters of children of smokers are exposed to their smoke in the house. It is lowest in British Columbia, at almost 49 per cent.

According to earlier research from the ORTU, residents in more than one-quarter of Ontario homes are exposed to second-hand smoke, three-quarters of them on a daily basis and the reminder on an occasional basis.

The studies released Tuesday were funded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada.