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Is the tendency to smoke genetic?

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Phil, people usually start smoking due to environmental factors rather than genetic (for example, my friends were doing it, my family smoked, it was cool at my school to smoke, I look sophisticated when I smoke, I am a rebel, etc.). However, the degree to which one is addicted has a strong genetic component. For example, whether one progresses from being an experiemental smoker to being a regular smoker. Or how easy/hard a person finds it to quit. Or what quitting method works best for a person. People with certain genetic factors may find it easier to quit with NRT than Wellbutrin, for example, or vice versa.

It is true that kids who grew up with both parents as smokers are much more likely to be smokers. If one or both parents can quit before the child is the age of 8, the effects can be reversed.

I would recommend never even starting to smoke as you never know if you could be one of the people who becomes easily addicted and has a hard time quitting. Nicotine is an extremely addictive substance. Please take this seriously and stay away from cigs!