DR. WALLACE: I'd like to address this letter to all adults (including my mother and father and two older sisters) who smoke cigarettes in the family home. The Environmental Protection Agency conducted an extended study on secondhand smoke. The report stated that secondhand cigarette smoke is a carcinogen and increases the risk of pneumonia and bronchitis in young people and kills about 3,000 nonsmokers every year because of lung cancer.

Now that we are positive that secondhand smoke is a potential killer, I would hope that all smokers quit smoking immediately. If they can't do it cold turkey, then they should get professional assistance to stop this expensive, nasty and deadly habit.

Smokers used to say, "Don't bug me about smoking. I'm only hurting myself, not you." No longer is this true.

Parents, you are all loved very much and we don't want to lose you just because you have a smoking habit. And I know you don't want to lose us because you have to satisfy a nicotine fit. Please allow love to overcome a smoking habit. Most smokers have said that they would like to stop smoking. What better time than today? — Lauren, Bozeman, Mont.

LAUREN: Thanks for your excellent advice. I couldn't have said it better!

YOU NEED HELP FROM YOUR COUNSELOR

DR. WALLACE: I have a very big problem and I need your advice. I'm a very good student. Most of my grades are A's and a few B-pluses. This would make most parents very happy, but not mine.

My parents were born in Korea, where grades are of utmost importance. My social life is very limited because I spend most of my free time studying under the supervision of my parents. I love them very much, but the pressure for me to maintain a perfect grade point average is very difficult. The times I've received less than an A, my parents become very depressed and this makes me feel sad. I am an only child, so all of their attention is spent on me.

I keep telling my parents that I'm doing the best I can, but I'm not perfect. I am intelligent, but my parents want me to be a genius and that's just not going to happen. Please tell me what I should do to get my parents to understand that I'm doing my very best as a student. I'm 15 and in 10th grade. — Nameless, Garden Grove, Calif.

NAMELESS: You're an excellent student who deserves her parents' praise, not censure. Mom and Dad need to lighten their grip and take joy in who you really are. To do otherwise (to be satisfied only with perfect grades) misses the point of education and could do far more harm than good.

You need help. Talk things over with your counselor. Ask him or her to set up a conference with your parents to discuss your educational progress and goals. Your counselor can help them realize how proud they should be of their daughter's academic achievements.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.