Teen boys who recently started smoking are more likely to quit than teen girls. And, both boys and girls who are frightened by cigarette warning labels, or play team sports, are more likely to quit also, new research shows.

A study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention included 620 boys and girls in Montreal, aged 12 and 13, who had recently started smoking at least occasionally. Just over 40% of the teens said their parents smoked, nearly 90% had friends who smoked and about 80% said they often saw their teachers or other school staff smoking.

Over the five-year study period, 40% of the teens quit smoking, but boys were 80% more likely to quit than girls, and older teens were 30% more likely to quit than younger ones, the investigators found.

Teens who said cigarette warning labels scared them were 44% more likely to quit, and those who played team sports were 40% more likely to quit, according to the study released June 3 in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

“Overall, these results support that healthy family habits, which include nonsmoking as the norm as well as positive exchange and functioning, will help novice smokers discontinue smoking,” study author Jennifer O’Loughlin, a professor in the department of social and preventive medicine at the University of Montreal, said in a journal news release.