They Say: When Parents Smoke, Kids Smoke

If you smoke around your kids, your kids are more likely to smoke when they’re older, according to a new study by the Harvard School of Public Health. But there’s hope. According to Dr. Stephen E. Gilman, co-author of the study, “that risk goes away if parents quit.”

The younger the children are when their parents smoke, the more likely the kids are to smoke. Kids under 12 were 3.6 times as likely to smoke as children of non-smokers. But teens over 13 were only 1.7 times more likely to smoke as their peers.

I was a smoker myself, child of two heavy smokers. I fit the mold of this study pretty well: my parents smoked when I was young, though I didn’t start smoking myself until my late teens. (What can I say? I’m an idiot.)

But I also know a lot of people (say, I don’t know, my sister) who were absolutely disgusted by smoking and turned completely away from it due to extensive early exposure to it.

Of course, whether or not your parents smoke isn’t the only factor. Researcher noted that everything from the media to genetic susceptibility can be factors in determining whether or not you’re going to smoke.

And, of course, whether or not you’re an idiot.