Girls take smoking from mothers, boys from fathers--study

The study conducted by European researchers states that mother's smoking habits do not induce the same habit in their sons, and similarly daughters do not imbibe it from their fathers.

In homes where both parents are present, kids imitate smoking habits of their parents, particularly the same gender. The exception appears to be in single parent homes.

Study particulars
The findings are based on the information compiled from the British Household Panel Survey 1994-2002.

Maria Loureiro, researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), in Spain, and study co-author, said, “We selected this data source because it gives detailed information on the products consumed in households, including tobacco, making it possible to analyse the transmission of smoking habits between generations.”

In order to assess the transmission of smoking habit between generations, the research team carried out a study in households where both parents were present, and single homes, primarily headed by mothers.

Study findings
The researchers found that the estimated probability of a son taking up smoking if both parents smoke was 24 percent compared to 12 percent if neither of them smoke.

For girls, the probability of indulging in smoking if both parents smoke was 23 percent which fell to 12 percent if both the parents did not smoke.

However, it was found that in single parent homes, mothers transmitted their smoking behavior to kids, regardless of the gender.

In such cases, while the son's likelihood of taking up smoking was 32 percent, it was 28 percent for daughters.

"Fathers transmit their smoking habits to a statistically significant level to their sons, and the same is true of mothers and daughters.

“However, if a mother smokes it does not seem to impact on the probability of her son smoking, and similarly a father that smokes does not affect his daughter," the researchers explained.

“The results obtained show that, in terms of smoking habits, after taking socio-economic variables into account, daughters tend to imitate their mothers, while sons imitate their fathers,” averred Loureiro.

“Policies that are successful in reducing smoking habits among parents will also affect their children.

“Anti-smoking policies for young people need to be put in place that will also include the family and social context in which they live," she added.

The study findings are published in the journal 'Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics.'