Parents smoking habits affect their children

If both parents of a child never smoked, research shows that a child's odds of daily smoking are reduced by more than 70 percent compared to when both parents continue to smoke. And if both parents were smokers but quit, those same odds are reduced by nearly 40 percent.  Additional research shows that mothers who quit are less likely to have children who start smoking.

As global leaders in tobacco control commemorated World No Tobacco Day
(WNTD) on 31 May, the rallying cry was to prevent young people from starting to smoke. While the 2008 theme, "Tobacco-Free Youth" called for additional limitations on the marketing practices of cigarette marketers and other comprehensive changes, a major determining factor of children's tobacco use is the smoking status of their parents.

"By quitting smoking, parents can play a major role in helping to end the vicious cycle of passing addiction from generation to generation," said Howard Marsh, MD, medical director, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

"Parents who want to take this important step should get help from proven smoking cessation treatments such as therapeutic nicotine to increase their chances of staying off cigarettes for good."

Smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable death and disease and one of the most powerful and important addictions to break. That said, many smokers can't do it alone. Evidence-based treatments such as therapeutic nicotine including (US: NicoDerm(R) CQ(R), Nicorette and Commit)
(ex-US) NiQuitin(R) and Nicabate(R) in combination with counselling offers a significantly better chance of quitting versus cold turkey.

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