The best way to prevent tobacco dependence is to not smoke in the first place. The best way to prevent your children from smoking is to not smoke yourself. If you're a parent who smokes, the younger your children are when you quit, the less likely they are to become smokers themselves. Even if you don't smoke, here are some strategies you might try, as a parent:

• Talk with your teenagers. Ask whether their friends smoke. The risk of your child smoking is higher if his or her best friends smoke. Most teenagers smoke their first cigarette with a friend who already smokes.

• Learn what your children think about smoking. Ask them to read this information so that you can discuss it together. Emphasize the newest research, which shows that teens show signs of tobacco dependence after smoking intermittently for only a few weeks.

• Help your child explore personal feelings. Use nonjudgmental questions and rehearse with them how they could handle tough situations regarding peer pressure and smoking.

• Encourage your teenager to enjoy maximal energy and health. Explain to your teenager that the active, vivacious lifestyles portrayed in many cigarette advertisements are actually more representative of nonsmokers. People who smoke have colds and other respiratory infections more frequently.

• Note the social repercussions. Remind your teenager that smoking gives you bad breath and makes your hair and clothes smell.

• Work with your schools. Become active in community stop-smoking programs.

• Promote smoke-free environments. Encourage public areas and restaurants, including places where your teen may work, to offer smoke-free environments. This helps to de-normalize smoking, reducing the chances your teen will start and helping smokers to stop.

•  Bad breath

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