Parents, not peers or pop culture, have the greatest impact when it comes to deterring kids from substance abuse. Parental influence was the basis for a recent roundtable sponsored by the Campaign and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Held at ABC television studios in New York City, the roundtable was part of a series aimed at educating media professionals about substance abuse issues. Creative executives from ABC, HBO, ESPN and Good Morning America, journalists from Teen People, Seventeen, Woman's Day and Newsday, and parent magazines attended.

Supermodel Christy Turlington, a CDC spokesperson, discussed her father's influence on her decision to start smoking. She said smoking was appealing not because it might keep her thin, but because her father, a man she admired, smoked. Now an ex-smoker, Turlington serves as an anti-smoking activist, working to educate teens about the dangers of smoking.

Other panelists included clinical/social psychologist Dr. Anthony Biglan, three parents and four teens.

Ruth Wooden, a social marketing expert, led the panelists into a discussion about the influence of parents. By the end of the event, several key points emerged:

• Parents should find ways to communicate and spend time with their child—even if it means participating in activities the parent won't enjoy.

• Parents should not "give up" trying to communicate with and discipline them, even though teens may fight their parents for more independence.

• Parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of drugs.The teens said that, while their parents had talked with them about sex, none had a conversation explicitly about drugs.