How to keep children from smoking? This Web chat Tuesday can help

Each day about 3,900 children younger than 18 smoke their first cigarette, and more than 950 will become regular smokers, according to the American Lung Assn. But parents can deter their kids from taking up this life-shortening habit.

Chicago Tribune health reporter Deborah L. Shelton will host a live Web chat Tuesday (1 p.m. EST, noon CST and 10 a.m. PST) with Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium, and Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The discussion will look at the latest research on the impact of tobacco on children and what can be done to prevent them from starting.

Here are some recommendations from KidsHealth.org that urge parents to start having a dialogue about cigarettes and smoking with their kids -- without making the issue punitive.

Then come to the online discussion for more ideas.