Children whose parents smoke are more likely to take up the habit themselves, a survey conducted by the health department in Shanxi Province has shown.

The study of smokers aged under 18, whose results were published recently, found that a large majority said they first got the idea by seeing their parents smoking.

Almost 79 percent of respondents with two smoking parents said they started for that reason, while 66.7 percent of those whose mothers smoked said the same, the study reported.

Health experts have said youngsters often model their behavior on that of adults in a bid to appear more confident, fashionable and mature.

Figures from the Health Ministry have shown China has some 100 million smokers aged under 18. And the figure has been rising in recent years.

The Shanxi health department, which conducted the survey, said children under 15 are the most vulnerable to the influences of smoking, with 85 percent of those polled saying they started smoking by copying their parents or other adults.

Eighty-four percent of those surveyed said smoking was a must when mixing with others in a social setting.

The study also found a close correlation between adolescent smoking and pocket money.

A separate survey in an unidentified Chinese city found that about 75 percent of students save their pocket money - about 43.5 yuan ($6) a student - to buy cigarettes.

The Shanxi health department study said students with more money at their disposal were more likely to buy cigarettes and take up smoking.

The law on the protection of minors stipulates that nobody is allowed to smoke in primary and junior middle schools, kindergartens or nurseries.

However, the study showed that 80 percent of young smokers face no objection or constraints when smoking outside school grounds.

To address that problem, the study urged schools, families and others in society to make more effort to curb underage smoking for the sake of children's health.

Adolescents who smoke are unable to match their non-smoking peers for memory skills, physical reactions or academic tests, the study said.

Children of smoking parents are more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infections and asthma, it said.

(China Daily 12/18/2007 page5)