According to a study led by John Pierce, an epidemiologist at the University of California at San Diego, cigarette ads influence teens to smoke even when parents are highly involved in their lives.

"Even if you do a good job of parenting, this advertising can undermine your effectiveness," said Pierce. "People come to me and say, 'I try to do everything right and still my kid starts smoking.'"

The researchers found that good parenting halves the risk that a teen will start smoking. For the study, good parenting was defined as setting limits for children and taking an active interest in their daily lives.

"The protective effect of recommended parenting seems to come from parents being more vigilant and interactive to keep kids from mixing with peers who smoke. But they don't appear to be aware of the powerful influence of the media messages," said Pierce.

The study was based on more than 1,600 interviews with children from throughout California. "We took a representative sample of 12- to 14-year-olds who had never smoked in 1996, and re-interviewed them in 1999, by which time 30 percent had smoked," Pierce said.

He added, "The study looked at parenting measures, peer smoking, and receptivity to tobacco advertising and promotions. The first thing we found is that recommended parenting is protective. Those kids who had recommended parenting practices were half as likely to smoke as others."

According to the study's findings, 20 percent of teens who had involved and authoritative parents had tried cigarettes by 1999, while 40 percent of teens whose parents were less involved and less restrictive started smoking.

Under recommended or authoritative parenting, parents set limits on their children's behavior, in particular free time, and monitor what they do. As the child matures and begins showing responsibility, parents give them more independence.

The study's findings are published in the July 16, 2002 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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