Telling kids not to smoke doesn't work

A survey of eight school smoking programmes found that seven didn't work at all. This should not be a surprise, given that children use smoking and other 'deviant' behaviours as a way of expressing their autonomy.

My mother, god rest her soul, found out I was smoking when I was 13. She told me, 'I can't stop from doing it, but your an intelligent boy, you make your own mind up.' I stopped because it was no longer possible to use it as a means of expressing my independence - she had already granted that.

That, however, did not stop the later rows about not going to church, vegetarianism, communism...

ABC News: School Anti-Smoking Programs Don't Work