Children of smokers are more likely to become smokers themselves, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study was conducted by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center and the New York state Psychiatric Institute.

Researchers analyzed data from the years 2004-2012 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Over 67,000 people over 12 years of age participated in the survey. There were 35,000 parent children pairs. The survey questioned both the parents and the children on nicotine dependence, their education on risks of smoking and their drug use.

The data showed that 38 percent of children whose parents were frequent smokers had smoked at least one cigarette themselves. On the other end, only 13 percent of children whose parents never smoke had smoked at least one cigarette themselves. Furthermore, 10 percent of adolescents dependent on cigarettes had parents who also smoked. The researchers found that daughters were four times more likely to be affected by this than sons. Other factors that may be affected cigarette use are parenting quality, education and mental health.

The researchers on the study state that in order for children to quit smoking, their parents must be first to quit.