For example, two teeth. Yes, smokers lose, on the average, two more teeth each decade than nonsmokers. So just delaying smoking from eight until 18 saves two teeth! Of course another 12 teeth are goners in the decades between 18 and 78.

If your children delay smoking until 20, then, in addition to saving two teeth, they are likely to delay turning prematurely gray as well, since smokers are four times more likely to turn gray prematurely. Also delaying smoking will put off balding since men who smoke are twice as likely to be bald or balding as non-smoking men.

In the long term, smokers have thinner, less elastic skin which means more wrinkles than nonsmokers. So children who wait until 25 to start smoking will look ten years younger at age 50 than classmates who started smoking at 15. I guess that's an advantage.

But starting young has other consequences. For example, young smokers have twice the likelihood of colds, flu, and respiratory disorders each year. Young smokers are also much more likely to try marijuana, and teens who have tried marijuana are twice as likely to try other drugs.

If your child delays smoking until 30, other statistics kick in. First, he or she is likely to forget to start smoking at all (more than 80 percent of starters begin in high school, 90 percent before 21).

So when should your child start smoking? The later the better, but never is better than late.

Actually, the percentage of young people starting to smoke hasn't changed much over the decades. But the increasing number of quitters has gone up resulting in an overall decrease in adult smokers from almost 80 percent in 1948 to 44 percent in 1964, to 29 percent in 1987, and only 27 percent today.

For all those ex-smokers, the health and longevity benefits start coming right away.

After 20 minutes without smoking, blood pressure decreases, pulse rate drops, body temperature of hands and feet increases.

Eight hours after quitting, carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop to normal and oxygen level increases to normal. After 24 hours the chance of heart attack decreases. After two weeks circulation improves and walking is easier.

At one year, the excess risk of heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker. Five years and stroke risk is back to that of a non-smoker. Ten years and lung cancer risk is down by half. Fifteen years and risk of heart disease and death rate are reduced to that of non-smokers.

Mom's and Dad's smoking habits are the biggest factor in children delaying smoking or never starting at all. Over 60 percent of smokers under age 19 are children of parents who smoke (70 percent for girls and 54 percent of boys). Only 35 percent of the smokers under 19 are children of nonsmokers.

So after all the arguing about smoking statistics, what's the best thing a smoking parent can do to steer the kids in the right direction?

Quit.