Children with parents who smoke twice as likely to start smoking at young age

A new study by the University of Washington’s Seattle Social Development Project suggests that 12-year-olds of parents who smoke are twice as likely to take up smoking between the ages of 13 and 21 than those of parents who do not smoke.

Other elements that influenced whether or not adolescents began daily smoking were consistent family monitoring and rules, family bonding or a strong emotional attachment inside the family, and parents not involving children in their own smoking behavior. The later includes such activities as asking their children to get a pack of cigarettes from the car or having them light a cigarette for the parent.

Read the full article: Children whose parents smoked are twice as likely to begin smoking between 13 and 21