HAMPSHIRE based tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) has tested chocolate and alcohol flavoured cigarettes in a cynical bid to lure under-age smokers, claim campaigners.

Secret trials with the new flavours have been carried out on rats in Canada, as smoking- related research on live animals is banned in the UK.

It is feared that the chocolate, wine, sherry, cocoa, corn syrup, cherry juice, maple syrup and vanilla flavourings being tested by BAT, could soon be added to popular brands.

However, bosses at BAT, the largest cigarette manufacturer in the country which does all of its UK manufacturing at its 26-acre plant in Millbrook, Southampton, have strenuously denied the claims.

A spokesman said the company was campaigning to raise the age of smoking to 18 and that there were no immediate plans to introduce the flavourings.

But Amanda Sandford, spokesman for ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), furiously hit out at the scheme.

She said: "These additives are clearly more likely to appeal to young people. Adding sweets to tobacco is appalling. It sounds like a cynical ploy.

"On one hand, they are putting a huge amount of resources into these additives, but are saying that you won't necessarily be able to taste them.

"But that is completely contradictory, because if you can't taste them then what is the point of doing it?"

Teresa la Thangue, a spokesman for BAT, said that the flavours may be added to cigarettes without any warning.

She said: "It is a trade secret what we put in our cigarettes and we don't want to make that information public."

She confirmed that the company, which turned over £640m last year, has no immediate plans to introduce any of these flavourings.

"BAT absolutely does not encourage children to smoke. We are campaigning in the UK to raise the age of smoking to 18," she stated.

"The tobacco industry has added flavours for many years to relieve the harshness of the smoke and give a signature taste. Some of the products already contain flavourings, such as Lucky Strike."

The Millbrook plant is where the company produces strong tar brands like Dunhill, State Express 555 and Rothmans International for export outside the European Union.

It is estimated that one person is killed every 15 minutes in the UK by a smoking-related disease, costing the NHS £1.7 billion annually.

The tests came to light in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, which revealed that a total of 482 ingredients had been trialled.

The work took place over the course of 90 days from January.