Youngsters are at greater risk to light up a cigarette if they have a sibling who smokes. A New Australian study shows peer pressure and smoking siblings can be a greater influence on a child’s decision to smoke than having parents who smoke.

The study, conducted on more than 7000 children aged from 11 to 13, found that non-smoking siblings can “exert a protective influence” on children’s smoking. Meanwhile, children who had no siblings were more likely to smoke than those with brothers and sisters who did not smoke.

According to the study done by researchers from University of Queensland and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, children growing up in lower socio-economic areas are were also more likely to smoke. In 2008, 32,000 Victorian students were smokers, despite smoking levels among teenagers being at the lowest levels.