Children of heavy smokers ‘likely to follow in their footsteps’

Parents with heavy smoking habits have been warned that their children are at an increased risk of also developing a nicotine habit.

A team from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center has conducted one of the first studies to take a prospective, intergenerational view of the impact a parent's behaviour has on smoking risk for their adolescent offspring.

It revealed that the more years a child was exposed to a parent's nicotine-dependent smoking, the greater the risk they would begin smoking or experimenting with cigarettes during adolescence.

The study also showed that children of nicotine addicts were more likely to develop heavy smoking habits themselves.

Lead investigator Dr Darren Mays, an assistant professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi, said: "It is difficult to dissuade children from smoking if one or both parents are heavily dependent on cigarettes. It is also important for parents who smoke to know that their children may model the behaviour."

The UK government has recently taken a number of legal steps to combat trends such as these, including the introduction of a ban on smoking in cars carrying children.