Study: Teens More Likely To Try Cigarettes If Their Parents Smoke

HealthDay (9/19, Dallas) reported a study found that teens are three times likely to smoke at least one cigarettes if one of their parents are dependent are nicotine. The study, led by Denise Kandel, a professor at Columbia University Medical Center and the Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, found that among teens whose parents never smoked, 13 smoked at least one cigarette in their lifetime. In contrast, 38 percent of teens who had a parent that used nicotine said they smoked at least once. Teenage daughters of women who smoke were also four times as likely to be dependent on nicotine. Girls, however, did not appear to be more likely to become dependent if their father smoked. The study was published online Sept. 17 in the American Journal of Public Health.