A global review found family-based programs have found these programs can be highly effective in stopping children from beginning smoking.

Professor Philip Baker said the University of Calgary and Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia) research team found that high intensity programmes might reduce uptake or experimentation with smoking by between 16 and 32%.

“The common feature of the effective high intensity interventions was encouraging authoritative parenting; where parents showing strong interest in and care for the adolescent, often with rule setting,” Professor Baker said.

“This is different from authoritarian parenting, where parents direct “do as I say”, or neglectful or unsupervised parenting.

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